Hollow Scars
by Khadrimx
Summary: The sequel to my story "Glass Heart" in a series I'm calling Iron Clad. Scarlett Damien has spent most of her life being a spy of sorts. After having met Tony Stark and deciding to start a new lease on life, she is making attempts to both make amends for her actions and to tie up any loose ends that may come to harm her in the future. But Tony isn't going to let her do it alone.
1. Good Morning Mr Stark

_[Hey guys, as promised, here's the first chapter of Hollow Scars. This story concentrates more on the action/conspiracy aspect of my series since Glass Heart laid the romantic foundation down for Tony and Scarlett's tumultuous love affair. Thanks for reading as always, I'm excited to get this in gear!]_

Scarlett's senses were roused from sleep by the smell of twenty year old scotch combined with the smoke of the finest Cuban cigars that money could be. Her limbs were sore and her mind was cloudy so she clung to the comforts of sleep for as long as she could. But the unnatural ache in her muscles wouldn't allow her to find enough comfort to rest so she laid still with her eyes closed, hoping.

The familiar haze of alcohol only permitted the brunette to hear the faint bustling sounds of a marketplace around the corner through the half opened window across the room along with an annoying buzz that she assumed was in her head. The white curtains that had been sloppily pulled shut across said windows did very little to keep out the bright light of the desert outside. Rolling onto her back Scarlett placed her right forearm over her eyes to hide from the light that was already contributing to the headache caused by drinking way too much the night before and not having eaten nearly enough to counter it.

The night before was a blur but it was most certainly not the first time she'd woken up hung over in a hotel room in the last month and she was sure it wouldn't be her last in the months to come. Someone shifted next to her in the bed, startling her out of her thoughts. Scarlett opened one eye warily and held her breath to listen in case she'd made the sound up. When the person next to her in bed shifted again to confirm their presence, Scarlett mouthed a string of curses, being careful not to wake up her partner for the night during the process. She had absolutely _no_ doubts in her mind about _who_ exactly had gotten her into bed.

Carefully checking under the covers, Scarlett saw what she'd guessed she'd find and then let the sheets drop back on top of her to cover her nudity. Or at least her _partial_ nudity considering the night before she'd apparently been too hasty to care about how dressed or undressed she was after she'd consumed enough alcohol to give into her baser desires. Slowly she kicked the covers away, studying the face of the man lying next to her for any signs that her movements were waking him up. All she had to see was his trademark facial hair to confirm it was who she'd guessed it'd been.

Luckily, her company had as much to drink the night before as she had and he was practically passed out. Scarlett knew she only had few precious moments before Tony would wake up and realize what she was up to and then try to stop her.

Tony Stark had pursued Scarlett on her journey out of the United States where she'd hopped across Europe to try and avoid anyone tailing her to, apparently, no avail, seeing as Tony somehow showed up in whatever location she ended up staying in for the night. Whether it be a bustling city of industry like London or an obscure town in the middle of the German countryside, somehow Tony pinpointed her every location and showed up when she was least expecting it.

Or at least she had _started_ out not expecting to see him and it had thrown her off quite a bit. The well known genius, CEO of one of the most prominent corporations on the planet and part time member of the Avengers had been on her tail only a week after she'd left his home in Malibu to try and right the wrongs she'd committed before her life with him.

When she'd left him alone in a hotel room in Los Angeles, a letter on the nightstand confessing her love for him and explaining to him that there were things she needed to do before they could be okay, she had expected him to be angry and instead he'd only become more determined to get her.

Their relationship had been bumpy from the start but once the air had been cleared they were left with the concrete foundation of something more. Well, other than Scarlett's conscience getting in the way that is. Tony had made it incredibly clear that he had no problem defying her conscience and following along for the ride or at least until he convinced her to go back home with him. She knew that was something she couldn't do. Her dreams were riddled with nightmares and the only times she _did _manage to find sleep she was wasted or woke up feverish. This morning was no different than the others. Her body was unusually sore and her forehead was covered in sweat, like she'd worked off a fever through the night.

Even so the first few encounters had so thrown her off her guard and upset her that she'd nearly reconsidered her plot and had gone home with him. But after she'd strengthened her resolve and continued on her journey and Tony had only kept following her from country to country she started mentally betting when he would show up on her tail and learning how to cope with the situation. She had the feeling that he had her bugged somehow and wondered if there was any truth to her hypothesis.

Either way their encounters always ended in one of three ways. While this ending in particular was Scarlett's _favorite_ ending of the three, it was also the hardest to recover from. They'd drink together after some convincing on Tony's part, and it was always supposed to be just the _one_ drink, but it was _never_ just one and that always became several which turned into many and then before Scarlett knew it she was in bed with him again, losing herself.

Not that she was really against the way the night ended. It was always fun, but she knew her behavior only encouraged Tony to follow her around to get what he wanted. He was far more stubborn than she had given him credit for.

The other two results of their encounters were not _nearly_ as entertaining and felt nowhere near as pleasurable. Either she'd be in the middle of some kind of important meeting or investigation and he'd show up just in time to blow her cover or scare off her target then get them into some kind of danger and they'd end up just barely escaping with their lives or she'd give him the slip in a crowd and have to watch from afar the disappointment on his face though the determination he was showing her was impressive to say the very least. Any other man would've given up on chasing her after the first time she'd left him alone in a hotel but Tony kept on pursuing her.

Tony Stark had made it _crystal_ clear how committed he was to their confusing relationship within the past few weeks and while Scarlett was flattered, it didn't change what she had to do. The weapons she'd created for MedCo while she'd been held captive in South Africa were too dangerous to ignore. It was her responsibility to stop them and was the only wrong in her life she could think to right. Every part of Scarlett wanted to give up, remain in bed with Tony and ask him to take her home, wherever the hell that was. It didn't even have to be home, it could be anywhere in the world and she'd be happy. But life was not that easy and she knew that she could never start a new life with Tony like she wanted if she didn't do this first.

Tony deserved more from a relationship than a woman who was preoccupied with thoughts of revenge.

Now Scarlett was slowly creeping her way out of the bed, half keeping an eye on Tony's expression out of paranoia in case he woke up and the other half taking one last good look at him before she'd run into him again at her next destination when he inevitably caught up with her. He had his mouth hanging open, snoring lightly with one leg hanging comically off of the bed while he slept. Scarlett couldn't help but smile.

Glancing around the room, Scarlett held a hand to her aching head in an irrational attempt to make the room stop spinning and then scoffed in disbelief at the extravagance of the hotel room they'd ended up in. Only Tony Stark would find the nicest hotel in Cairo to get them a room in while they were _drunk_. Shaking her head in amusement, Scarlett started to collect her missing articles of clothing off of the floor so she could get out of there as quickly as possible.

The first time he'd caught up with her in London after she'd gotten away, Scarlett had written him another note telling him not to follow her with another apology and had left it on the nightstand like she'd done in Los Angeles. But when Tony had found her _again_ a few days later she'd decided that note writing was a little silly considering he wasn't listening to her anyway, and she was pouring her heart out for no reason. Clearly Tony knew exactly how she felt or he wouldn't be following her all over the globe to try and _save_ her. Or at least that's what _he_ called it. She referred to it as obstructing her or getting in her way.

Shoving the dirty clothes into her bag that had been thrown sloppily across the room into a corner, Scarlett pulled out fresh clean clothes that she'd purchased in London and got changed quickly into a comfortable pencil skirt and a white button up. It wasn't the ideal clothing for a mission, but she knew that while she was out in public she had to appear less threatening than she intended to be.

Once she was finished, she walked around the side of the bed and found on the floor a pair of handcuffs Scarlett had taken off of an old colleague she'd caught up with in Germany who had gotten them into a pinch during her visit. Picking them up she recalled Tony's attempts to play dirty with them and how they had been easily discarded thanks to the shortened attention span the abundance of scotch had provided.

Double checking to make sure she had her phone, gun, wallet and other belongings she slowly moved Tony's arm so that it was closer to the edge of the bed. He grunted and shifted but didn't wake up. Once it was close enough and she could slide it off the bed without shifting his body too much, Scarlett hooked one end of the handcuffs onto the bed post closest to the floor and the other end onto Tony's wrist then jumped away from him quickly so that he wouldn't be able to grab her if he woke up during the process like she predicted.

Sure enough, the constriction on his wrist caused him to stir and shift. Yawning loudly and dramatically Tony blinked open his eyes and smacked his lips together tiredly. Glancing to the side with squinted eyes he saw Scarlett fully dressed and at first just smiled at her. Then upon realizing what it meant to see Scarlett dressed and ready to go, he jumped alert. Tony sat up and then pouted as he was tugged onto his back again because of the way the handcuff was restraining him to the bed. Short of rolling off of the bed and onto the floor he wouldn't be able to properly sit up like this. Craning his neck to look over the side of the bed to see what was holding him down, Tony then chuckled.

"You know, Scarlett, I've played dirty games enough times to know my way around a pair of handcuffs." Tony smirked, sleep still hanging on his voice, but he becoming more alert as time continued. If he could buy a few minutes he might be able to get out of the handcuffs and stop her. It was a long shot, but he had to try. "It won't take me very long to break out of these, you could reconsider… We never _did_ get to play our game last night."

"Sorry but there won't be any games this morning. Those few minutes are all the time that I need." Scarlett picked up her bag and then glanced back at him, pointing an accusing finger. "Stop following me around, Tony. I'm doing this for your own good."

"And I'm saying it's for _your_ own good that I'm still following you around." Tony turned his attention to the handcuffs on his wrist, starting to maneuver them so he could slip his hand free or break the mechanism that kept him in place against the bed frame. He heard her sigh and continued to fiddle with the mechanism on the cuff while he rambled on in hopes of delaying her. "You know, when Stark Industries was still manufacturing weaponry for the military I designed a _far_ more efficient personal detainment system but the military wouldn't purchase it for whatever reason… I spent a lot of time showing them just how flawed these things were and how they were better suited for the bedroom." Tony lifted his head up, and glanced toward the door only to see Scarlett walking out of the room without so much as a goodbye.

Sighing softly he shook his head in a smile and then craned his neck to try and watch her walk away, so at least he'd have that memory to get him by until he caught up with her again.

"Until we meet again! I _love_ you!" Tony pursed his lips in a smile, speaking in a sing song voice. The first time she'd left him it'd hurt, but now it was turning into a game and Tony was perfectly okay with that as long as he won in the long run.

Scarlett was thankful that Tony had come to terms with their odd new _arrangement_ and was relieved when she didn't feel the all too familiar guilt in the pit of her stomach that she'd been used to accompanying the morning after.

Quickly she walked to the elevator at the end of the hall in a comfortable open sitting area. When the door slid open with a chime, Scarlett reached inside and pressed the buttons for every floor below the one they were staying on, which was the tenth, including the lobby so that when Tony summoned the elevator to try and follow her he'd get hung up by the fact that it'd been called to stop on so many other levels. Afterward she walked past the elevators, hearing the doors slide closed without her, and found the stairwell at the end of the room where she raced down the flights stairs, heels in her hand to avoid falling down as she raced.

Once she arrived at the lobby of the hotel, Scarlett didn't bother to stop and catch her breath and instead slipped her heels on, adjusted her bag on her shoulder and walked into the bustling lobby.

Scarlett had learned over the years that the key to blending into a crowd was to act like she belonged amongst them and she was a _master_ of looking like she belonged. Placing her sunglasses on Scarlett surveyed the lobby to make sure things would be safe for when Tony inevitably came down and tried to catch up to her.

She knew she'd be long gone by the time that happened, but it wouldn't have been the first time she'd been followed by an enemy and had a rude awakening. Even if she _was_ leaving Tony upstairs in a hotel room handcuffed to the bed she wanted to make sure he was safe, considering that was the whole point of her leaving him in the first place. That idea hadn't exactly worked out the way she'd planned it, but she was also aware that Tony was more than capable of taking care of himself.

Scarlett recognized someone out of the corner of her eye and instead of going out the front doors like she'd intended she walked to the front desk and pretended to fill out a guest inquisition form but was really looking out of the corner of her eye at a woman who was walking slowly around the lobby, like she was searching for someone or waiting for someone to arrive.

The professional looking woman had peculiar yellowish tinted eyes, long brown hair pulled back into a lazy ponytail and bangs that framed her face. There wasn't anything remarkable about the woman that she could discern other than she looked out of place and yet Scarlett had diverted her escape to get a better look at her. She recognized this woman and it took only a few seconds to recall where from.

The mystery woman was holding a worn leather briefcase stuffed with folders that stuck out of the top of it for convenience. Scarlett had let the woman into the Stark Mansion on a prior occasion when she had been breaking into Tony's complicated computer system and making a mess of their already messy relationship.

The woman had announced herself as a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent and Scarlett had made sure she was legitimate before she'd taken off. She wished now that she had taken a more specific interest in the woman and her position at S.H.I.E.L.D. so she would have a better idea of what she was dealing with.

It occurred to Scarlett that this woman was likely there looking for _her _and not for Tony considering what she was neck deep in. Quickly, Scarlett twisted her hair up and out of her face and shoved a hair pin to keep it away. With her hair up and her sunglasses on she wasn't as immediately recognizable. She only needed a few seconds to distract the agent to accomplish her task. With any luck, the woman wouldn't be expecting Scarlett to approach her and wouldn't realize she was right in front of her.

Pulling her cell phone out of her bag, she walked toward the agent, head down and glancing at the screen as though she were looking at an important message. Scarlett snapped a few photos of the agent for reference so she could look up more information on her and the organization that she was already vaguely familiar with due to contact with one of their agents many years prior. Then she pretended to bump into the agent from the side, feigning having been so caught up in her message that she hadn't been aware of where she was walking. After muttering an apology under her breath, Scarlett snuck a handful of files from the briefcase that remained open and shoved them discretely into her own bag.

Without showing her face to the agent and receiving a confirmation that she was just fine and no harm was done, Scarlett offered a kind smile, a nod of her head, and then looped around and started toward the glass front doors of the hotel once again. Heading out of the hotel at long last, she didn't stop or turn around when she heard the agent following after her and calling her name, apparently realizing exactly who had bumped into her.

"Miss Damien? Is that you? Scarlett Damien? I'm from S.H.I.E.L.D., we need to have a word!" The agent called after her and started to follow her but Scarlett kept her head down, ignored the woman's calls and disappeared onto the crowded streets and out of sight before she could be caught and delayed any further.

If she had a need for S.H.I.E.L.D. intervention later on then she'd approach them with information and ask for assistance. In her experience, agencies like S.H.I.E.L.D. had a tendency to get in the way more than they did assist.

Agent Mickey Pierce considered navigating through the crowd in search of her target but knew it wasn't worth the effort she'd put into it. She'd surely spend hours crawling through the sea of visitors and locals around the overpopulated area of the thriving city to search for the woman and would likely only find traces of a ghost as she had in other cities.

So instead Mickey concentrated on her back up plan. If she could find Tony Stark, who was often in Scarlett's wake, then she would be able to ask _him_ the questions she had prepared for Scarlett and at least have a better idea of what she was up against and perhaps even garner his assistance. But then again, the last time she'd approached him he had been very little help and had barely acknowledged her existence.

"Scarlett? Scarlett? Hey, anyone around here see a tall leggy brunette running this way? Probably in heels, she's out of her mind, have any of you actually tried _running _in three inch heels?" Speak of the devil, Tony emerged from the stairwell out of breath and in scant else but his boxer briefs. There was a pair of handcuffs still clamped around his wrist, one end dangling mangled off of him. People stared at Tony in response, clearly no one having the information that he needed and being far more interested in him.

Running out the front doors of the hotel lobby once he was sure everyone around him was useless, Tony looked from side to side and then sighed heavily, realizing that he'd been just a _little_ too late to find Scarlett in the hotel. He'd have to track her down all over again. Not that it was entirely _too_ hard for him. The first time he'd found her in London in a gloomy Bed and Breakfast had been one hell of a task but he'd gotten smart that first night he'd spent with her abroad.

When she'd fallen asleep that night after he'd lured her into bed, Tony had found her cell phone in her bag and had placed a GPS locator bug in the system so that he would be able to pinpoint her location without her realizing it at ease. He was surprised that she hadn't discovered his secret yet, but wasn't going to argue since his system hadn't failed him yet. There was hope that she still _wanted_ him to find her.

Brushing his hand lazily through his short hair, Tony became very suddenly aware of those around him staring at him and starting to recognize him. Some people were even taking cell phone photos of him.

"What?" Tony hoped that by addressing those looking at him they'd be too embarrassed to continue their curious gaze, but instead several people pointed to the handcuff that was hanging from his wrist. "Come on, do you people even _know_ me by now? This shouldn't surprise you." Tony's face lit up with a confident smirk. Before he could further explain the handcuffs with an elaborate story that would make the most open minded people blush, someone cleared their throat to attract his attention.

"Mr. Stark, could you spare a moment of your time?" Mickey kept her eyes on Tony's face but had to keep repeating over and over in her mind to keep focused on _just_ his face and not anywhere else considering Tony had ignored the need for clothing. It was incredibly distracting.

"I'm kind of busy, can't you tell?" Tony waved her off without giving her a second glance.

"Too busy for pants I take it?" Mickey smiled warily then scowled when Tony brushed her off again, this time pretending not to hear her. "You don't remember me, _do_ you?"

"Sorry lady, you S.H.I.E.L.D. agents all look the same to me. No offense." Tony shrugged and started back into the hotel, contemplating his next move and how long he should wait before he followed Scarlett. At the very least, he _should_ put some pants on since walking around half naked he seemed to draw more attention than he needed considering the sensitive nature of what he was up to. When Mickey didn't look amused by his quip, Tony smiled apologetically but also signaled with his hand for her to _shoo_. "If you don't mind, I've got things to do. You know the consulting hours. I'll send Fury yet _another_ memo."

"These things you have to do, would they perhaps be related to a company that goes publically by the name of MedCo?" Mickey interrupted before Tony could turn away and retreat to the elevator. Tony stopped short and considered his options. If S.H.I.E.L.D. knew about MedCo then they likely knew he'd been pursuing them for quite some time. Why wouldn't they include him in their investigations? Likely for the same reasons they kept him out of the loop in most things. He was beyond their control.

"Okay, you have my attention."

"We met a few weeks ago when Scarlett Damien let me into your laboratory while you were sleeping. You knew my fiancé who died during that charity event where MedCo's robots attacked. Once again, I'm Special Agent Mickey Pierce and I think that it's about time we sat down and had a talk, Mr. Stark."

"Huh." Tony rubbed his hand over his goatee and considered her proposal. "Aren't _you_ all sassy? Okay, you know what? _Fine._" He figured it couldn't hurt to see what S.H.I.E.L.D. was up to concerning MedCo. It didn't surprise him that they were aware of the company seeing as they were officially a global terrorist organization as of a few weeks ago. But why they would be so concerned with their personal matters involving the company, Tony was curious. If he could get any information from S.H.I.E.L.D. that he wasn't privy to, then he was more than happy to waste a few minutes with Special Agent Mickey Pierce while he let Jarvis do the work with locating and tracking Scarlett.

"Fine?" Mickey looked relieved but still skeptical that Tony was actually agreeing to listen to her. "Just like that?"

"If you're going to complain then I can change my mind." Tony would've glanced at his watch to show her his impatience but he'd taken it off the night before. "There's this little café down the road. It's filled with tourists but it should be safe for us to talk there without detection."

"Oh no, I'm not falling for that, Mr. Stark. You're almost as sneaky as your little girlfriend but not nearly as clever. You're going to tell me to meet you there and then leave me waiting while you scamper off." Mickey looked disapproving, making a walking gesture with her forefinger and middle finger.

"No, that's actually _not_ it. I'm just half naked, in case you didn't notice, and they probably won't let me in without the pants I neglected, as you so keenly mentioned earlier." Tony held his arms out on either side of him, proudly displaying his half naked body. "And for the record, I'm _just_ as clever as Scarlett is, thank you very much."

"Oh…" Mickey drifted off, contemplating his offer. If he gave her the slip then she'd have to track them down from scratch which was proving to be no mean feat since both Tony and Scarlet _were_ immensely clever. Mickey sighed then glanced down the sidewalk in the direction Tony had gestured toward for the café, spotting the tables at the end of the street. "Alright. But if you're not there in fifteen minutes then I'm going to have you arrested. Next time the handcuffs won't be for some game."

"I miss Coulson." Tony smirked but then turned on his heels without saying another word to the agent that was pursuing him. Mickey was making frustrated sounds as she left the lobby but he didn't much care how irritated he'd managed to make her. Disrupting the life of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents was practically a side job for him.

Once in the elevator, Tony considered his next move. Jarvis and Pepper would be able to locate Scarlett for him while he juggled the task of speaking with Agent Pierce and eventually taking a conference call so he could keep his company afloat. He still had a thousand things on his mind from running a multibillion dollar corporation to where he'd find Scarlett next or if he'd find her dead.

Following her, Tony had hoped he would find some answers and instead was left with a thousand new questions. One thing was for sure: Scarlett remained as interesting as ever.


	2. Debriefing

Tony had purposely taken his time getting ready for his breakfast meeting simply to irritate the already irritated S.H.I.E.L.D. agent waiting for him around the corner. Agent Pierce _needed_ something from him and he was going to make her work to get it but in the same breath, Tony had his own motives for keeping the meeting and not leaving her high and dry.

It made sense to him in a sense that S.H.I.E.L.D. was going after MedCo, considering that was what S.H.I.E.L.D. _did_ on a daily basis. The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division was an independent syndicate working with the United States government as well as various other governments around the globe in as discreet a manner as possible to seek out international terrorist threats and put a stop to them before they became global epidemics. At least that was what Tony had been told they were doing when Nick Fury had first approached him some time ago. After having consulted for them for a few months Tony had gotten a better grasp of how the place functioned. Not surprisingly, they seemed to function like any other shady branch of government such as the CIA or FBI just with less legal red tape to go through.

Tony guessed that on top of seeking out and putting a stop to terrorist functions, being the sort of business that was looking to make a preemptive strike and get away with as little destruction as possible, S.H.I.E.L.D. was very likely _creating_ and storing weapons along with complex back up plans in case any of their attempts to keep global enemies at bay went awry.

While he was most likely a bit of a hypocrite for judging S.H.I.E.L.D. so harshly for their practices, considering he'd been the CEO of the leading company in weapons technology in the world from the time he was old enough to legally step up as chair, Tony didn't like the shady way S.H.I.E.L.D. handled their business. Secrecy, when it came to the protection of the ordinary citizen who didn't need to _know_ they were in danger if the threat wasn't immediate was fine, but the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., the ever intimidating, in a pirate sort of way, Nick Fury, had a tendency to keep information from the people _working_ for him. Speaking from experience, lack of communication usually meant there was something to _hide_.

Those who ran their organizations on a _need to know_ basis were on Tony's shit list immediately. It was true that _he_ didn't tell his employees everything that went on at Stark Industries but if it was in regards to the projects _they_ were working on he made sure they knew _all_ the risks and every tiny little detail.

Working with S.H.I.E.L.D. was very similar to gambling for Tony. He'd become a consultant for them after one of their agents, Natasha Romanoff also known as Black Widow, had been _placed_ under cover in Stark Industries to keep an eye on him and had deemed him unfit to be a part of something called the Avengers Initiative.

Tony had secretly obsessed over the initiative and the notion of a team of superb people who would unite and protect the world from harm and had harassed Director Fury and one of the lesser agents he'd become familiar with over the past few years, Phil Coulson, about it every time he saw them. Unfortunately just a month or so before he'd found Scarlett he'd heard that the project had been deemed "unfeasible" and had been scrapped. Even when hacking through S.H.I.E.L.D. computers, Tony hadn't been able to find anything on the project.

After taking a quick shower and changing into a comfortable but expensive pair of blue jeans, a worn Led Zeppelin t-shirt and a sport coat despite the desert heat, Tony sat down on the edge of the messy bed he'd displaced to escape from his handcuffs only moments prior.

Glancing back at the messy sheets Tony smiled at the memory of the night before. Chasing Scarlett from country to country had its benefits but at the same time he was growing weary and increasingly worried as he continued. It wasn't in his nature to share that with Scarlett, but the feelings were there nonetheless. There was a feeling in his gut that was telling him if he didn't get her to go home soon then he never would.

He couldn't figure out why that feeling made things seem so dire. So another girl got away and he went home alone, it wasn't like it was the first failed relationship Tony Stark had seen in his years. Something was different this time. There was a tug with Scarlett where there had never been a tug before with women prior. Tony had always stumbled into relationships in the past, not purposely pursued them.

Despite his weariness, he was sure that even if he gave into temptation and went home, he would set out after her time and time again until he found a way for them to be together. It was the inevitable result of his romance with Scarlett, or at least that's what he was hoping for.

Shaking away the conflicting thoughts, Tony pulled out the phone he'd rebuilt and brushed his fingers artfully across the screen. Before he left he would give instructions to his home computer so that Jarvis could locate Scarlett, as he'd done many times before, and keep an eye on her while he met with Agent Pierce in hopes of finding out what S.H.I.E.L.D. knew about MedCo.

It was still no surprise to Tony that they were looking into the devious organization considering what he knew about them from his private investigations, firsthand when he'd crashed their party in South Africa, and from what he had learned from his time with Scarlett. But what Tony wanted to know was why S.H.I.E.L.D. was taking such a personal interest in what _he_ was up to with _Scarlett._ The two of them should've been minor blips on their radar considering what MedCo was capable of. It was true they'd left a path of minor destruction in their wake but between the two of them they'd paid for damages and kept others out of harm's way. In fact, they'd made a pretty damn good team and if anything, S.H.I.E.L.D. should've been grateful for that.

Despite it all, Tony thought it was none of Nick Fury's business what he was up to with Scarlett. That was, of course, unless Nick Fury knew something he _didn't_ know about what was going on behind MedCo's closed doors.

Ultimately that was what Tony was _really_ curious about. He wanted to see if he could negotiate for information with Agent Pierce that would help him so he could finally get rid of MedCo and finally start to heal Scarlett's guilt. After sending a quick update to Pepper in vague terms, Tony maneuvered a few meetings on calendar then hurried out of the room. Downstairs he checked out of the hotel and then casually walked down the block and around the corner to the café that was nearly empty at that time of day. Agent Pierce was seated in the far corner of the patio looking rather disgruntled and looking over the menu for the restaurant with disinterest. It was obvious she had no intentions of ordering anything but was growing tired of waiting.

Satisfaction flooded him when he saw the woman's irritation in her body language. Deciding to end her misery, Tony walked over to the table and leaned his head forward so that his sunglasses would slide to the end of his nose and he could look at her over the top of them. He gave his best charming smile but still Agent Pierce looked none too pleased to be in his presence.

She was noticeably tired of trying to chase him and Scarlett down. Tony was about to make a sassy remark about breakfast when something brushed against his leg and instead he glanced downward, confused. Pulling his designer sunglasses away from his face and resting them in his coat pocket for safe keeping, Tony spied the friendly looking golden retriever standing next to Mickey, its leash tangled loosely around the woman's wrist. The dog looked overjoyed to see him and wagged his tail so hard he practically shook his whole body from side to side in hopes of getting some petting time from him.

Tony patted the dog on the head reluctantly then sat in the chair across from Mickey. Leaning back leisurely in it he offering a strained smile, making it clear that he wasn't pleased to be there with her either and she was wasting his valuable time.

It was a skill Tony had developed at a very young age thanks to his upbringing; the ability to make people feel like they were wasting his precious energy with nothing but a smile. When he cleared his throat and checked his watch with a smack of his lips, Mickey got the hint and placed her briefcase on the table in front of them.

"Mr. Stark…" She began, breaking the silence between them.

"Tony, _please._" He held his hand up and winced as though she had caused him some kind of physical pain. Scarlett had ruined him on being called by his last name for awhile after having refused to use his first name for so long.

"_Tony,_" Mickey started again skeptically and purposely haughty, "as earlier stated I came by your house a few weeks ago with some important paperwork that I requested you look over and contact either Agent Coulson or Director Fury in regards to. You _never_ did that. So I've been dispatched and forced to track you down personally. Now this matter you chose to ignore has gotten slightly out of hand and has become number one on the S.H.I.E.L.D. priority list since then."

"And _yet_ they send me an agent who I've never had contact with outside of the casual holiday function instead of Coulson or Fury themselves so I'm assuming this isn't _that_ important…" Tony drifted off with disinterest and turned his eyes toward the golden retriever who had strategically scooted closer to him underneath the table and was now resting his head against Tony's knee, large puppy dog eyes looking up at him hopefully, while his tongue hung out of the side of his mouth and dripped beads of drool on his jeans. "I assume that this thing is _your_ dog."

"His name is Pluto." Mickey made no attempt to call her dog away from Tony. She was actually enjoying how displeased the billionaire looked.

"Wait, _Mickey_ and _Pluto_? What is this, the Magic Kingdom?" Tony glanced again at the dog but made no attempts to push the creature away. Each time Tony made eye contact with Pluto, however fleeting, the dog wagged its tail in hopes of getting a positive reaction. Mickey was obviously caught off guard by his joke though it hadn't been the first time she'd heard it. Her cheeks turned pink while she avoided further eye contact.

"You've been looking for MedCo and I assumed that you would want to talk to us because we are _also_ looking for MedCo. If you had read that file I sent you, you would've seen we were bringing you in to consult on this case."

"Look, if you're fishing for information from me, I only know so much and I refuse to give _anything_ to you without something in return." Tony tapped his index finger on the table in front of him.

"This _isn't_ some kind of game, Mr. Stark… I mean, Tony." Mickey cleared her throat quickly and then considered what she could do to try and level the playing field. Her morning hadn't gone exactly according to plan and she didn't really have the upper hand to begin with.

"Listen _Mickey_, your dog is slobbering on my leg, you don't have a single thing on me _or_ Scarlett, you don't have enough information to pursue MedCo in the open on your own so I'm not sure why else you're here other than to trade information with me. If it was any other scenario then S.H.I.E.L.D. would've come in here full force and physically pulled me and Scarlett out. You're fishing for something… if you want information from me, I want information from you. It's only fair. This is business and in case you didn't notice, I'm pretty good at business." Tony tapped his fingers once again on the table.

"He's _not_ slobbering. He's hot, we're in the desert." Mickey glanced at Pluto who was still desperately seeking Tony's attention and paying little mind to his owner.

"If you can't give me anything then I need to be on my way because in case you didn't notice, my girlfriend sort of ran off again and I need to get her back. You're in my way." Tony pointed toward the streets nonchalantly once again letting the agent know that she was wasting his time. Mickey gave Tony the same dark look she had reserved for the menu earlier and then glanced toward her dog for some strange confirmation from him before she started to dig through her briefcase with a slump of her shoulders and a heavy sigh.

"Fine, we'll do an exchange of information but a limited one. Some of this is above your current security level, Tony. If you want the rest of what we know, you're going to have to come in to headquarters for debriefing." Mickey looked superior for a second before she realized that something in her briefcase was _very_ amiss. Peeking underneath the table she looked for the important files she'd once kept organized in folders inside her briefcase and that she had reviewed a second time that morning before realizing they had mysteriously disappeared. Frantically Mickey tugged her briefcase aside in case the files had fallen onto the table without her noticing to no avail. Her files were gone. Tony read the look on her face easily as the color drained from her cheeks.

"Missing something, are we?" Tony leaned back again in his very uncomfortable chair, then snapped his fingers to signal one of the café's waiters to come over to their table. "Can I get some water… sparkling, if you can, with a lemon on the rim. If you could just set it down there when you get it I have… a peeve about being handed things." Tony glimpsed back toward Mickey who was now digging frantically through her bag again in search of something she wouldn't ever find. The panic increased on her face and Tony leaned back in his chair with a chuckle.

"What are you laughing at? It's _not_ funny! There are, I mean were, important files in there… Oh god, Director Fury is going to _kill_ me." Mickey pouted as she leaned her head in her hands then spied at Tony from between her fingers and grimaced. "Would you stop smiling like that? Man, what am I going to do? They're _never_ going to send me on field missions after this!" The woman continued to rant and shake her head, but all the while starting to dig once again through her briefcase hoping she overlooked the folders but was grief stricken all over again when she realized they were still nowhere to be found.

"You've been _Bond'd_." Tony grinned from ear to ear and then thanked the waiter who brought him his sparkling water and set it down on the table as requested so he wouldn't have to have it handed to him.

"What?" Mickey dropped her hands with a desperate sound, still looking none too pleased and seemingly not understanding what reference Tony was making.

"Bond'd. It's kind of like Punk'd but _way_ more frustrating. It doesn't get any funnier either." Squeezing the lemon on the side of the glass into the sparkling water, Tony then picked up his glass of water and took a sip of it, watching Mickey over the rim of it.

"I don't understand what you're talking about." Mickey continued making a face of annoyance, hr lip curled, but Tony waved her off.

"Scarlett took your files. She's very James Bond about that stuff. I've been considering contacting MI6 actually and seeing if they lost a recruit somewhere along the line…" Tony continued down this train of thought without including Mickey, rubbing his hand over his jaw and staring off into the distance.

"James Bond?" Mickey couldn't have been more annoyed. Tony simply nodded. "Look, files or not we can still trade for information. I can tell you what I remember from overlooking the files and from my debriefing with Director Fury." Mickey looked frustrated and worn.

"Don't worry Mickey, she'll give them back I'm sure." Tony tried to alleviate the irritation Mickey was clearly feeling without any success. "I mean, eventually that is. And I can't really guarantee it but…"

"I'm not holding my breath if it means on counting on _either_ one of you. You've been nothing but trouble." Mickey's frown melted away when Pluto came over to his master and nuzzled his wet nose against her hand. She scratched behind his ears and felt less stressed thanks to her dog. Tony was still confused by the presence of the dog.

"What is he? Some super bred canine you get to take out on your missions?"

"I'd hardly call _this_ a mission, thank you very much." Mickey began, the topic clearly being a sensitive one for her. "And no, that's just my dog."

"What's he doing here?"

"Well, they said it was okay for him to stay as long as I sat on the patio with him." Mickey seemed confused by the question but offered an answer nonetheless.

"Well, that I figured out. I meant… what is your dog doing coming on missions with you?" Tony still looked confused.

"It was going to be a long mission so I asked to bring a companion on the road."

"You know most people bring other _people_ as companions for this kind of thing." Tony waved his hand in front of him before drinking from his glass again.

"Well, I'm not most people _Mr. Stark_." Mickey was still short with Tony, still caught in thoughts about the trouble she was going to be in when she reported in with the Director that her paperwork had been stolen by the woman she was supposed to be pursuing.

"Touchy, touchy… It's not my fault that Scarlett stole your folders. I promise to spank her good for you when I find her." Sipping still at his glass of water, Tony side eyed his phone when it buzzed then straightened his back and leaned his elbow on the table. It was hard to keep from fidgeting in the steel framed chairs set out for customers in the café. "Now, what do you have to tell me about MedCo that you can actually remember from those files you lost? I guess I _could_ wait until I find Scarlett and get it from her but it's not likely she'll tell me willingly."

"We had an agent undercover with MedCo ever since your little incident in South Africa a month or so ago. There was a considerably high number of employees listed at that facility found dead scattered throughout the same region afterward so we decided to finally step in."

"What agent did you send in? Anyone I know?" Tony fiddled on his phone again, tapping into his computer system that had recently been set up in Manhattan where a digital recording of their conversation would be stored for further investigation.

"That's none of your business." Mickey cleared her throat and continued on before he could object. "On top of what we presume you know about MedCo in regards to their terrorist activities, they've become one of the most prolific illegal weapons manufacturing companies on the planet. Our man on the inside has reported that they are developing weapons of mass destruction similar to the robots that MedCo obtained and enhanced thanks to Miss Damien's work for them. Even worse than that, they're into far dirtier dealings than we could've imagined." Mickey furrowed her brow seriously and placed a hand to her forehead while she tried to recall what she had seen in her folders that morning before leaving her hotel.

"What could be _dirtier_ than weapons of mass destruction?" Tony scoffed, leaning an elbow again on the table and setting his phone face down so it could pick up their voices discreetly. "And for the record, Scarlett created those machines under duress. If you guys are here to press charges on her I've got some _really_ annoying lawyers you can deal with." Mickey's annoyance disappeared momentarily and she shook her head.

"We're after Scarlett because MedCo is after Scarlett not because of the work she did for them." Mickey smiled, obviously knowing something that Tony _didn't_ know for once. It was easy to want to one up someone who had given her such a hard time.

"Why do they need her back in the first place? She's been causing them more trouble than they need. If they let her go, it'd probably benefit them." Tony narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Mickey. "They partially got what they wanted from her while she'd been held captive so why bother with pursuing her? It doesn't add up. She's causing them far more trouble than she could ever offer in assistance. Not to mention even _if_ they got their hands on her again she'd never help them build anything. Even if they captured her and held prisoner she knows better. Hell, if they held her prisoner again she'd probably blow the place up again. Even for a company like MedCo, rebuilding a facility from the ground up is no easy feat."

"She killed one of their founders. Did she tell you that?" Mickey continued to pet Pluto behind his ears. The dog was wagging his tail contently and looking sleepy eyed at Tony from where he rested.

"She did mention that." Tony nodded his head, grimacing and having a feeling where their conversation was headed. He hadn't considered that the motives behind MedCo's pursuit of Scarlett could be completely unrelated to her escape.

"Maybe they want revenge pure and simple. Maybe she's not telling you the whole story of her involvement with them. Maybe there's something else altogether. There are too many maybes and unknowns in this story and the higher ups at S.H.I.E.L.D. figure that there must be something explaining this better than conjecture. There has to be something more than that they're bitter she got away. Scarlett is valuable to MedCo for some reason so she's valuable to S.H.I.E.L.D. for the same reason."

"So she's currency." Tony stared at Mickey accusingly, gritting his teeth.

"_Not_ currency. That's_ not_ what I said." Mickey seemed appalled that she would be accused of taking part in such a thing.

"You're using her as a bargaining chip against another corporation. She's not some tool for you to utilize, she's a human being. You see this is what I hate about you people…"

"Not _me_, S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm just doing my _job_." Mickey smacked her hand on the table to gather his attention and end his rant. "You're not understanding the whole story, Tony."

"Then enlighten me."

"MedCo is doing much worse things than just making robots, guns and explosives. Our undercover man is working his way up through the ranks but we have reason to believe that there are far more unsavory and wicked things going on in the laboratories at MedCo. If they get their hands on your girlfriend, Tony, then who knows what they'll do to her. It doesn't sound to me like they want her to work for them. It sounds like a vendetta."

"Oh, yeah? You're _worried_ about what they'll do? And what exactly will S.H.I.E.L.D. do with her if _they_ get their hands on her?" Tony didn't trust them. Something felt wrong about the situation as a whole and he would be damned if he stood idly by and let Scarlett get steam rolled in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s anti-terrorist tactics.

It was the theory that one life sacrificed to save many that let terrorists like MedCo sleep at night with the atrocities they committed and the blood dripping on their hands. Mickey considered this, but she didn't know the answer to Tony's question. She didn't disagree with Tony on the matter but she knew that it wasn't her decision to make, either.

"I don't know. That's up to Director Fury. She could be detained, but she could also be protected or assisted. I wasn't given that information." Mickey shook her head and then tapped the table again to get Tony to focus. "Now what do _you_ know about MedCo. This was an exchange of ideas, remember?"

"I know probably way less than you do and that's only what Scarlett told me. MedCo was working under the guise of a medical technologies corporation that was attempting to further the medical sciences in third world countries. Being a skilled engineer she took the job under the assumption she would be building artificial limbs that worked with real life accuracy. They kept changing specifications so she became suspicious and found memos on _my _letterhead. That's when she started to suspect me. MedCo had been working with a prior acquaintance which you should be familiar with, Obadiah Stane, to receive shipments of weapons from my company."

Mickey jotted down notes on a pad she kept in her briefcase while Tony spoke. "She never mentioned anything about experiments and laboratories, just that she was trapped and kept prisoner with her boyfriend's life, not serious though trust me we've been through that, held as leverage against her. Those robots she made were in an attempt to save both their lives. She never thought that by creating endless defense mechanisms they would be more effective than creating attack protocols in their systems. She never intended to create what she did."

"Bruce Banner never _intended_ to become a big green rage monster, Tony." Mickey put her scattered paperwork back into her briefcase once she'd finished writing, frustrated that not only had her folders with such sensitive information been stolen by the very person she was supposed to bring in for debriefing and detainment, but she'd traded information with a man who had very little to offer her other than back story. "You didn't mean to put weapons in the hands of the Nine Rings either and yet you did. Some of the worst enemies and threats are created thanks to things people like you and Scarlett didn't _mean_ to do."

"What do you think she's doing out here chasing ghosts?" Tony glared across the table at Agent Pierce.

"I don't know, why don't _you_ enlighten _me_ this time?" Mickey folded her arms over her chest once her mess had been cleaned up.

"She's trying to make amends for what she did because she knows the repercussions of her actions while she had been held in captivity. Why do you think she won't just come home with me and sort things out between us worry free? I'm Tony Stark. She could be living life as a damn carnival and instead she's out here. She's got more accountability than I've seen S.H.I.E.L.D. show since they approached me when I was suffering from the palladium sickness." Tony slid his glass away from him on the table, picked up his phone and checked to see if Jarvis had a read on Scarlett's location yet only to find he had about a hundred different messages he needed to look through.

"I just want to help." Mickey softened. "Even if it's off the record, I just want to help. It's my job. If you can help us resolve this situation with MedCo then I can try and get Scarlett off the hook for you." Tony quietly contemplated this deal and then nodded his head to agree to her terms.

"That's what I was planning on doing anyway so if you hold up your end of the bargain, then so will I."

"I'm still going to pursue you both. It's my job."

"I know." Tony nodded his head and got up, straightening his jacket. "MedCo has roots in Russia and Tunisia. You should look into both. The Tunisia one is likely gone by now because those smaller facilities tend to fade out quickly, but I think there's a personal connection to Russia. I've been spending my long nights hacking into various servers they've used to try and hide their dirty dealings and no matter where their bases relocate there's always a connection to somewhere in Russia."

"Russia's a pretty big country, Tony."

"It's all I've got." Tony shrugged and slipped his sunglasses back on the looked down at his jeans in disapproval at the slobbery stain on his knee from where Pluto had rested his head and panted in hopes of getting some affection from him. "I'm sending S.H.I.E.L.D. the bill for these jeans." Without another word, Tony turned on his heels and headed away from the café, leaving a very frustrated and confused Mickey behind at the table, petting her dog for comfort.


	3. Biological

Scarlett didn't waste any time getting the hell out of dodge once she'd snuck out of the hotel and away from Tony and the agent who had come for her from S.H.I.E.L.D. Having become sentimental somewhere along the line, the first few times that Scarlett had left Tony alone in the morning she'd made the mistake of lingering around the area out of guilt only to be cornered again by the man and having to suffer through a second goodbye.

Even without his high tech gadgets to assist him, Tony was a cunning and formidable opponent. Not that the two were _actually_ on opposing sides in their situation, Scarlett just couldn't think of how else to refer to him at this point. If she started thinking of Tony as her partner or her lover then that's how she'd start treating him and the fact of the matter was that she wasn't yet prepared to do that. There was still too much at stake and too many unknown variables for Scarlett to involve Tony so intensely.

Having lingered around the airport and purchased a last minute one way ticket to South Africa, Scarlett walked through the bustling terminal, her duffel bag slung over her shoulder and the S.H.I.E.L.D. folders she'd stolen held securely in her arms hidden inside a three ring binder she'd picked up at an airport shop after having gotten through security. It was a long flight to her destination so she'd have plenty of time to go over what she'd taken once she was in her seat on the plane and had a moment to relax. Her nerves were shot and though she'd tried to glance over the files while seated in the terminal, she hadn't been able to properly concentrate.

While waiting to board the airplane her thoughts returned to Tony and how she'd left him handcuffed to the bed frame in the room after a passionate night spent together and all he'd had to say to her was how much he loved her in spite of her actions. She knew it was inevitable that he'd catch up to her again but she still felt guilty for leaving him in such a state time after time when he'd done nothing but show her affection.

That wasn't entirely true; Tony always had ulterior motives when it came to women. Most of the things he said were incredibly sexist, perverted, and border lined on sexual harassment, and half the time they were arguing over something ridiculous. But still, there was something endearing even about that part of Tony. He was only trying to help her after all, and he shouldn't be punished for following his heart.

Scarlett took a seat near the far window so she could watch the planes taxiing across the runway but perked up only seconds later when they called for boarding onto the jet. Hurrying, she handed her ticket to the flight attendant and made her way onto the plane where she took a seat near the front of it and quickly stowed her bag beneath the seat in front of her. Still holding onto the files, Scarlett didn't wait for the plane to even taxi away from the gate before she started to go through the papers she'd taken. Now that she was away from the busy crowd of the airport, it was far easier to concentrate.

It was no surprise to Scarlett to find that out that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been following MedCo's activity for the past decade somewhat vaguely. The company was as clever and sneaky as they were devious so even the counter terrorism unit had very limited information on them. Most of what was included in the files was information which Scarlett was already well aware of and didn't need to revisit.

Curiously, Scarlett found there was a rather well padded file on _her_ activity for the past few years. Wondering what S.H.I.E.L.D. could possibly want to know about what she'd done, she flipped carefully through the pages to see what it was about her behavior that had jumped onto S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar in the first place. Not surprisingly, Scarlett discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D. knew very little about her personal history and had only started following her activity around the globe about eight years prior. Scarlett was proud of the fact that she'd kept her personal life a mystery to the company, even though that had been by design. When she'd first gotten involved in the underground scene she hadn't taken the proper precautions to disguise her identity and it had made her vulnerable on more than one occasion.

Quickly, Scarlett had adjusted and adapted to her new career and excelled at becoming the enigma she'd pretended to be so that her employers couldn't attack her personally if she didn't conduct business the way that they had hoped she would, which had happened on more than one occasion on a job.

Scarlett, by nature, wasn't dastardly or wicked, she was simply bored with regular work. Still, she couldn't think of anything she had done that warranted S.H.I.E.L.D. intervention. In fact, if Scarlett hadn't run into a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent on one of her missions eight years ago then they likely would've never known she existed. At least they wouldn't have known until everything blew up with MedCo considering what a debacle that had turned out to be.

While on a job for some scum bag in China to commit corporate espionage and help prevent one business from becoming a monopoly, Scarlett had run into the notorious Black Widow. Scarlett had heard of the Russian super spy long before they'd met and had always admired her skill and cunning. Unfortunately, it wasn't the occasion for Scarlett to tell the woman _just_ how enamored she'd been by her skills since it seemed that someone had hired the spy, Natasha Romanoff to do exactly the _opposite_ of what Scarlett had been hired to do.

Natasha had walked in on Scarlett while she'd been inside the corporate headquarters and the two had gotten into quite the heated battle. Natasha was definitely more skilled at physical combat than Scarlett could have ever wished to be, but Scarlett was far more familiar around technology and resourceful with her surroundings than Natasha had been. It had been a pretty explosive battle but the two had eventually decided that they were evenly matched and stopped physically assaulting the other. Neither one of them had thought their payment had been enough to go through the sort of trouble the other was causing.

When Scarlett had stopped fighting and convinced Black Widow to do the same she asked Natasha why she'd come and who had hired her. She was surprised to find out that they had the same employer. Natasha seemed equally confused and instead of continuing on opposite sides the women had gone out for a drink so they could compare notes. One drink had turned into many and the women spent most of their night swapping stories before coming to the realization that sooner or later they were going to have to deal with the sticky situation they'd found themselves in.

Glancing out the window of the jet with a smile at the fond memory, Scarlett watched the plane take off and recalled the adventure that had followed. Having the sneaking suspicion that their employer had far more immoral motives than he'd implied, they'd decided to do some sneaking of their own. Teaming up, the women gathered information against the companies in question and then blackmailed them both into reaching an agreement so that neither party would destroy the other or benefit from the arrangement. They collected a hefty financial settlement in the end.

It had been a whirlwind adventure but Scarlett had gained a powerful ally in Black Widow after that night. They hadn't kept in touch or anything quite like that, but Scarlett knew that if she needed help, she could contact her and get her assistance. She knew this because if Black Widow called her for help, Scarlett would do the same.

A cling in the back of Scarlett's throat broke her train of thought so she summoned the flight attendant to get her a glass of water. After draining the whole glass in nearly one go, she leaned her head back against the uncomfortable coach seat of the airplane and listened to the hum of the machines that kept the plane pressurized so the passengers could breathe comfortably at cruising altitude. Exhaustion clung to her body and weighed her down. She could've fallen asleep then and there on the plane but knew she still had too much to do before she could get any proper rest.

Not that she _would_ rest even if she somehow managed to actually fall asleep. Nightmares she thought would fade once she was alleviated of the guilt she felt for having been responsible for Scott's death had only increased in violence and occurrence. There had been multiple occasions where Scarlett had woken up sick to her stomach and feeling feverish thanks to the severity of the night terrors that plagued her.

Even when she _did_ sleep without having a vicious nightmare she never felt rested and spent hours tossing and turning unless she was in Tony's arms and forced to stay still. Something about being with Tony at least allowed her to avoid the tossing and turning bit. Perhaps it was her subconscious trying to avoid disturbing his slumber, or maybe it was the comfort of having someone next to her in bed. Either way, Scarlett was exhausted.

Coughing again into her hand, Scarlett discarded the cup for her water and then flipped once more through the files that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been keeping on her. It seemed that Black Widow had been an agent for them at the time they'd collaborated on their mission so many years prior and had informed them of her existence and skill set.

Ever since then, S.H.I.E.L.D. had been keeping a neat little file of the jobs that they suspected her involvement in. It was remarkable to see just how many of the jobs they'd discovered had been her even though she'd done everything in her power to stay anonymous. But it was equally amusing to find out just how many jobs they'd missed out on at the same time and how many times she'd been listed as missing in action within the files. There had even been a period of a year or so in the file where they had no idea where Scarlett disappeared to. They hadn't rediscovered her until she'd been found at the Stark Mansion in Malibu.

If she ever got the chance to sit down with a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to discuss what had occurred she'd make sure they knew just how far off from the truth they were about her history. Black Widow had listed Scarlett as a potential threat after meeting her and quite frankly, Scarlett was flattered. The more she considered her history, the more she realized how closely she walked the line between villain and hero in the eyes of the law. She wondered if anything had gone any differently in the past few months if she'd be out to destroy the world rather than doing some good in it. It was amazing how her perspective was altered by something as small as matters of the heart. Scarlett assumed that if Tony hadn't come to her aid in that jail cell the day she'd confessed the truth to him that something horrible would've happened to her and her whole life would've been altered.

A villain is something Scarlett had never wanted to be, but it didn't mean she didn't have the capability within her somewhere.

Instead, she had been granted a second chance at redemption and planned to make proper use of it while she had the opportunity. Putting her file aside, since she knew what she'd find in the remainder of it, Scarlett went through the next few files that were more specifically on MedCo's behavior over the past three years. A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent was reportedly placed under cover after the explosion and intense destruction Scarlett had been a part of a few months prior. Grimacing, Scarlett continued to look over what had been reported from the agent that had infiltrated the company as one of the security operatives that she'd had more than enough experience with.

For a fleeting moment, Scarlett considered Sergei and hoped that he and his family hadn't suffered at the hands of MedCo because she'd given him a heads up to what she planned to do. He'd saved her life in more than one way and she hoped that maybe someday, even anonymously, she could offer him the gratitude he so deserved. It was crazy to think of just how much had transpired in the last few months. Scarlett's life had turned completely upside down. She'd gone from being practically a spy to trying to set her life straight, to head over heels in love with one of the most celebrated men on the planet. Now she was back out in the field, searching for a way to clear her conscience and unsure if she would actually manage to.

Flipping through the paperwork, Scarlett was surprised to see just how much S.H.I.E.L.D. had been able to dig up on MedCo thanks to their man or woman on the inside. Wondering who could be the agent that had infiltrated the corporation, Scarlett considered it _could_ very well be Black Widow. Then again, if MedCo had been aware of Scarlett's dealings in the underground then it was likely Natasha was known to them as well.

Scarlett knew MedCo had dabbled in the weapons manufacturing industry and had something to do with terrorism considering the things they had done in order to try and stop her escape, including crashing a charity event filled with debutants and celebrities as well as attacking many innocent civilians.

The extent of their malevolent activities, however, was beyond her knowledge. She'd thought that they were a legitimate medical development corporation when she'd been approached by them for a job. Scarlett was very rarely fooled by an employer but MedCo had put up such a good front that she hadn't thought twice about their motives until she was already in way too deep.

Resting her head in her hands, Scarlett attempted to will away the dull ache that had grown in the back of her mind ever since she'd woken up in the hotel room next to Tony. No matter how she tried, the cough and the headache weren't fading but she was guessing it was a result of her not sleeping properly and the constant travel wearing down her immune system. There was no cause for concern; she'd merely have to remember to pick up something to ease the symptoms when she got the chance. Scarlett wasn't a fan of drugs and preferred to use natural remedies for her ailments. Unfortunately sometimes there weren't any other options than pharmaceutical drugs.

Closing her eyes for a few seconds, Scarlett began to drift off into sleep without realizing it. The plane jolted through the clouds and woke her up only a few minutes later but it had been enough of a rest to dull the headache so she could focus on the task at hand. Attention back on the paperwork in front of her, Scarlett made a point to get better acquainted with MedCo's history and their inner workings. The more she knew about her enemy the easier it would be to handle them when she came face to face with them.

It was very likely Scarlett would wind up with blood on her hands if she continued down the road she was on, but she didn't see any other way out of it. Then again, if she left bread crumbs for S.H.I.E.L.D. to follow then maybe in the long run her adversaries could be apprehended and held prisoner to stand trial for their crimes. It was better than ending up in prison for years for murder if she slipped up. Not that Scarlett had slipped up many times in the past, but she'd discovered in the last few months that she wasn't quite the woman she used to be.

Apparently having feelings and emotions made her vulnerable and sloppy. Not to mention now that she had taken the time to _try_ to feel something, emotions she'd stifled for years were wearing on her and catching up with her at the most inopportune moments. The signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder had manifested early on when she'd woken up in Tony's mansion but thankfully had faded quickly. She couldn't help but wonder when it would come to bite her in the ass and throw off her game. After all, Scarlett had been through many traumatizing things in the last year but hadn't taken the time to truly absorb them.

The good thing about living the sort of adventurous life Scarlett led was that she didn't have much time to reflect on the past so there wasn't any chance of it haunting her other than in her sleep. Judging by the frequency and severity of her nightmares, there was far more going on in her mind than she was willing to deal with.

Her shoulders felt suddenly heavy again with burden. How could she possibly repair the damage that had been done to her psyche over the years? There were too many scattered pieces of her life lying at her feet for her to put together. Perhaps she'd been broken beyond repair and by her own hands at that. It was silly for her to think that she could patch things up just because she'd fallen in love with someone. She felt even sillier to think that she was in love at all. It was something she'd never believed in and yet there she was, head over heels in love with Tony Stark of all people.

"God, I've been spending _way_ too much time with Tony." Scarlett muttered, placing her fingers on her temples and rubbing in a circular motion in hopes of easing the tension from her headache. "Focus." Staring back at the files in front of her, Scarlett flipped through the paperwork and found reports sent back to S.H.I.E.L.D. from an anonymous contact, presumably the one that they had placed under cover.

MedCo had masked as a medical company so that on face value they would be thought of with benevolence. They'd made minor contributions to the countries they infiltrated to avoid detection, funding hospitals and clinics in several low income sections of over populated areas, mostly in Africa but there were also locations listed in Turkey, Russia, Germany and Spain. Behind the thin veil of kindness and philanthropy it looked like one of the heads of MedCo, and Scarlett was betting on it being Mikhail after having dealt with them first hand, had been bargaining with various munitions manufacturing companies throughout the United States to illegally ship weapons. From there the weapons were distributed to terrorist organizations and various other black market dealers who either paid obscene prices for them or locked in partnerships with MedCo so they could provide a service in return at a later time.

Once Stark Industries had pulled away from the weapons game, just as Tony had said he'd done, the suppliers of weaponry to MedCo dropped like flies. The demand was far higher than the supply so instead of bellying under like many companies in MedCo's position would've done they made a bold change and _became_ the manufacturer. Having a supply of Stark technology and having developed contacts that had worked for Tony's company in the past, they were able to replicate and distribute similar weapons accordingly.

Upon realizing how profitable illegal weapons manufacturing could be, the company had decided to branch out further into acts of terrorism. Scarlett closed the manila folder as the flight attendant walked by and glanced out the window at the desert landscape far below. It made sense that MedCo had moved on to manufacturing weapons and why they'd tried to rope Scarlett into working for them but she wondered _why_ they were still pursuing her after she'd caused them so much trouble. There was nothing that Scarlett could build them that could possibly make her worth the trouble they were going through to catch her.

On top of that, how had MedCo _heard_ of her in the first place? Granted she had a reputation in the underground but _not_ as an engineer. If MedCo had been looking for someone to steal blueprints or to take down a company from the inside, then they might have heard of Scarlett. But it was her engineering skills that had gotten her the job at MedCo not her skills in covert operations.

Then again, she had started searching for a more stable job after she'd gotten home from the botched mission that had gone so horribly in the Middle East that it had nearly killed her and MedCo had _offered_ her a job. It hadn't seemed suspicious at the time, given she'd contacted some of her former employers from when she'd first tried to hold down a normal job many years prior. They had assured her that they would look around for her to see if they could find an opening worthy of her skills. She'd gotten multiple calls from several reputable companies looking for her assistance and MedCo had won the bid by being the most tempting financially and by being located in one of her favorite places. She could stay in an apartment in Cape Town and still do her job. Perfect was the word she and Scott had used to describe the opportunity. Just what she needed.

None of that had seemed suspect at the time, but now looking back, Scarlett wondered how long MedCo had been looking into her and searching for an opportunity to hire her and take advantage of her situation. If they had been aware of the job that had left her in such disarray beforehand then perhaps they were waiting to pounce on her when she got back on the market, whether it been for a legitimate job or in the underground.

After having learned more from S.H.I.E.L.D. about MedCo's situation it suddenly clicked as to why there had been so much Stark technology lying around at the facility in South Africa. Even if it had been dated, Stark Weapons Technology was some of the most advanced on the planet and it was likely they were trying to develop replicas of Tony's brilliance now that his partner was no longer around to do dirty dealings with them under the table.

Guilt made Scarlett's stomach sick while she reflected on how she'd blamed Tony for Obadiah Stane's faults. To be fair, she hadn't known better either. What had happened with Stane wasn't overly publicized. Granted, Tony had turned a blind eye to the behavior for years so that he could live a life of frivolity and sexual promiscuity.

After having gotten to know him better, Scarlett realized that Tony had been used just as horribly as she had been. Having blamed him for what had happened to her and Scott, as well as many others who she was sure were just like her but weren't able to escape, Scarlett felt partially responsible for putting Tony through the ringer. Now she knew that he'd had nothing to do with any of what MedCo had been up to. There weren't enough apologies in the world that could make her feel better about the way she'd treated him.

What puzzled Scarlett about the claims that Stark Industries was no longer involved in MedCo's dealings was the fact that newer Stark technology unrelated to munitions had been lying around at the facility. There had been several newer models of Stark energy enhancements as well as a few prototypes that had been put out after the Stark Expo had funded multiple independent projects for smaller companies the year before.

Scarlett was considering that maybe someone _else_ working for Stark Industries was making dirty deals with MedCo right under Tony's nose because she knew now, after having raided Tony's files, that he wasn't involved in any way, shape, or form. In fact, Tony had only ever tried to _stop_ MedCo and had never once tried to defend them or regain their business. The man may have been flawed but there was something to be said for taking responsibility for one's actions, even if that action had only been to ignore and neglect what his company had been doing around the world while he partied like a college boy.

Needing a break from the flood of information Scarlett had absorbed from the files within the folders she'd stolen from the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Scarlett pulled out her cell phone that she had altered after she'd bought it. It was one of the first things she'd done after purchasing it in Los Angeles the morning she'd told Tony she'd loved him.

On her flight to the east coast where she'd caught a connecting flight to London, Scarlett had dismantled her cell phone and drastically altered the way that it functioned. She had been inspired to do so after seeing the kinds of things that Tony had built in his lab for his own personal use. There had been a phone he'd planned on giving to her but things had gone off track for them and he'd never gotten to give it to her before they'd started on their emotional roller coaster. But now she had her own incredibly efficient phone that was doubling as a personal computer. After landing at JFK airport in New York she'd contacted an internet storage company where she'd purchased a private server where she could remotely store data she collected without worry of a third company intervening and seeing what she was up to.

Scanning her phone slowly over each piece of paper in the files that S.H.I.E.L.D. had collected on her and the ones she'd already gone over from MedCo, Scarlett made sure that each piece of information was stored on her phone where it would be uploaded once she had service to the server she'd purchased. It was good for her to have the files on hand, but having spent so many years involved in espionage and conspiracies had taught Scarlett that while having a backup was a good plan, having a backup of a backup was even handier in sticky situations.

Once she'd scanned the remaining, Scarlett pocketed her phone and then continued on through the paperwork that remained in the S.H.I.E.L.D. folders. It was a good thing that she had taken a breather before she'd continued on considering what she read next. The feeling in the pit of her stomach hadn't steered her wrong. Somewhere in the depths of her mind Scarlett had the sneaking suspicion that something more nefarious was happening behind MedCo's already sinister front. When they'd drugged her in the prison cell and tried to take her away to god knows where, she'd started to wonder what other poisons they had access to. Considering their business proceedings often ended in making deals with people who couldn't afford their wares, MedCo had a great many friends in low places that would help them accomplish even the vilest of deeds.

Once they had discovered how profitable weapons supplying was to those who were desperate to get it, they had branched out into other types of warfare. There was a project highlighted on the pages that seemed to be the group's main focus and it was referred to as the Alpha and Omega Project but there was little else written about it. It seemed as though even the long arm of S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't infiltrate all of MedCo's secrets.

Scarlett had the distinct feeling that whatever this secret project was, it was something biological and far more terrifying than anything she could've built in that dark room she'd been trapped in for weeks. Unfortunately, there was little else listed after that in the S.H.I.E.L.D. files. It seemed as though the most recent transmissions had been involving this biological threat and there had only been a limited amount of information on it to begin with.

Keeping that thought fresh in her mind, Scarlett considered investing in a gas mask and made a mental note not to forget that now MedCo was dealing with something far more dangerous than metal and machine guns. She wondered why they bothered to continue pursuing her once again. Of course, she knew enough about the biological and chemical sciences to be of some assistance but her expertise was in mechanics and engineering. Technology had always been her forte; there was little she could do to assist the company with some sort of killer virus or contagion.

To be honest, she wasn't truly sure that MedCo was after her to make her work for them at all anymore. Maybe they wanted revenge after she'd killed Erick. Perhaps they wanted to teach her a lesson. Or maybe she'd just pissed them off enough while she'd been held captive that they wanted to eradicate her. But there were alarm bells ringing in her mind as she considered that this was a grudge match. There were things that Mikhail had said to her during his attempts to intimidate her that were resonating in her mind.

She was too strong an asset to simply destroy and move on with. They wanted something from her and the only way Scarlett would find out was if she handed herself over to them and that wasn't something she was willing to do, at least not without a means of escape or a backup plan. It was entirely probable that Scarlett would have to sacrifice her freedom for a short time to get to MedCo, but she was trying to avoid going back into captivity for as long as she possibly could.

Stowing away the file folders again in her bag, Scarlett slipped her phone away as well after turning it back off. Closing her eyes, she hoped to get some rest, considering that her headache didn't seem to want to leave her be. With any luck, the boredom of the flight to the south end of the continent would give her the chance to really rest, though she didn't think that was very likely. Sleep hadn't been coming easy to her lately and it was taking its toll on her physically.

According to the files she'd gone through, S.H.I.E.L.D. had already been through what remained of the facility in South Africa and had found little of note. In fact, there hadn't been any bodies recovered from the sight which puzzled Scarlett. Sure, she'd known that Scott had survived once Tony had finally confessed he'd known about it, but there should have still at _least_ been Erick's body considering she'd double checked to see if he was dead after she'd killed him. Maybe MedCo had returned to the scene of the crime to cover any traces left behind. That seemed to be the most likely option available. It was impossible that no one had been injured or killed in the battle that had taken place with Iron Man and the explosions that had riddled the facility.

Scarlett had originally planned to travel to South Africa so that she could go to the hospital where Scott had been admitted after the incident. Even if she was no longer interested in the confusing relationship she'd shared with him for years, Scarlett wanted Scott to know that she was alive. They may not have been the most compatible couple and she was sure she was never what Scott wanted in a relationship and vice versa, but she didn't wish any ill will upon him either.

If nothing else, Scarlett wanted to let Scott know that she was alive and well and that he bore none of the responsibility for what had befallen her at the hands of MedCo. Really, it was Scarlett who shouldered most of the guilt for what had happened. If it weren't for her and her thirst for danger and excitement then he never would've gotten dragged into her mess. When Scarlett had first met Scott he lived a boring ordinary life. She'd been the one who was into adventure and deadly excursions. Slowly he'd gotten sucked into the danger that followed her and couldn't get out. That was partly why their relationship had gone on for so long. Scarlett had never felt the tug with Scott that she had nearly immediately felt for Tony despite her extreme distaste for his chauvinist behavior.

Scarlett had stayed with Scott out of duty and responsibility. Then of course, after she tried to finally settle down and attempt to give Scott the life that he'd been fighting for through the many years they'd been together, things had gotten out of control by someone else's hand. And as Scott had always told her, she had been _asking_ for it. It was pure luck that something like what had happened in Afghanistan and what had happened with MedCo hadn't happened a thousand times over the last decade.

Unfortunately Scott had been right about many things in Scarlett's life and she hadn't been willing to hear them until after she'd thought he'd died by her hand. Once she'd landed in London Scarlett had contacted the hospital where Tony had located Scott. By the time she'd managed to get in touch with his doctors she found out that Scott had already been released but at least she knew he was healthy.

It'd be much harder to find him without him being kept in a safe room at a hospital, but she knew that after all was said and done with MedCo she would go and find him and let him know that she was still alive and well. Then she could return to Tony and close the chapter of her past that would haunt her for the rest of her life. Maybe if she could right just a few wrongs, she would be able to find some sleep and give Tony the love that he deserved.

But first Scarlett would have to try and locate MedCo so she could try and get the advantage over them and that was what was proving to be the hardest part. MedCo was a ghost company. The best thing Scarlett could compare them to were matryoshka dolls. Every time she opened one door and thought she'd found the end, another one appeared with the same dilemma. It was a never ending series of nesting dolls. Every time Scarlett found the opening of the next doll, she'd find a new one waiting just beneath it and equally as puzzling as the one that it had been hidden behind.

So instead of wandering around Europe in hopes of being able to stumble upon a clue, Scarlett decided to return to the last place she'd had contact with MedCo.

The rubble in South Africa that was left over from the facility where she'd been held and forced to build the robots that had caused her such grief was as good a place to start as any. S.H.I.E.L.D. may not have been able to find anything of note within the destroyed building, but they also hadn't been held there. Scarlett had spent every waking moment for weeks trying to devise a way out of the building without compromising her life or Scott's in the process.

If anyone could find anything left over in the wreckage it would be her. Scarlett's stomach turned once again and she considered at last that it wasn't from the lack of sleep or the guilt she was riddled with. The plane shuddered from the wind outside, only increasing the feeling of illness in the back of her throat.

So reaching for the bag conveniently placed in the pocket of the seat back in front of her, Scarlett spent the remainder of her flight sick to her stomach and wishing she could find a moment to rest since clearly her body and mind had other plans.


	4. Through the Wreckage

[[Goodness, just thought I'd say how excited I am to be getting into this story.]]

The charred and haunted looking remains of the former MedCo facility stood silent in the setting sun of the desert. There was no chirping of birds or skittering of animals or insects hurrying across the sand to avoid the strange woman walking cautiously toward the wreckage. Gun with silencer equipped in one hand and flashlight in the other, Scarlett stopped before she reached the damaged walls of the building and scanned the area for any signs of life. There were none, not even the normal signs she would've expected as a signal that nature was taking the land back for its own.

It seemed like what had transpired there was something nature wanted nothing to do with or wasn't ready to forgive. Maybe it had been the characteristics of the chemical explosion that drove the wildlife away. Or maybe it was the same thing that kept people away: superstition. After the reported _accident_ that had taken place at the old MedCo building it seemed that people were afraid that bad things would happen to them if they returned. Rumors had spread across the desert about what had _really_ happened despite attempts by the nefarious corporation to relay a cover story.

There was the distinct possibility that nasty things _had_ happened to those who had been curious enough to come by the site to try and loot anything of worth from the building, but Scarlett didn't think it was necessary to look into these incidents quite yet. If there were any stories left to tell in that disaster zone, Scarlett would find them hidden within the walls on her own. If chemical exposure became a problem she would soon be aware of that as well. Once she was sure there were no other signs of life within the area, Scarlett stepped quietly through the sand toward what had once been the front entrance of the building but was now caved in and half destroyed.

Goose bumps broke out along her arms and Scarlett shivered to try and ward them off, sending a chill down her spine in the process. The facility seemed less threatening now that she wasn't trapped in it but something about it still gave her the creeps. Surveying the damage to the entryway, Scarlett decided she'd have to find another way in. There were support beams from the floor above lying on their side blocking the entrance but the floor it had been holding up hadn't yet collapsed. One wrong move while making her way through the rubble and Scarlett could bring the whole floor down on top of her.

Being crushed under the weight of the building didn't sound very appealing to Scarlett, so she slowly walked toward the north side of the building to see if she could find a place to crawl inside where she could do so without disturbing the precarious wreckage. An eerie calm surrounded the building and it upset her nerves. Scarlett wasn't sure if it was because the place was _actually_ eerie like a scene from a horror movie or if it was because she'd been held captive there and as she walked memories of her captivity came flooding back.

She decided it was the horror movie atmosphere that was playing games with her mind making her uneasy and instead focused on the memories being stirred up. Half of them were actually _fond_ memories. While she hadn't liked being in captivity and had been worried for her life and for Scott's, she'd had a few riveting adventures in that building. Sergei had been one of her fondest memories of the place. He reminded her that the men who worked for companies like MedCo weren't always out to do harm. They were just like her: hired hands that needed to make money. Something had likely gone wrong in their lives that had led them to that point. Just because Sergei worked for MedCo didn't mean he was a monster. It made him human. And after having gotten to know him, she'd reconsidered how to deal with men like him.

Scarlett stopped to consider what had gone wrong in _her_ life that had led her to work for companies like MedCo but couldn't think of much specifically. Everything she'd done had been of her own making. Her moral compass apparently was surrounded by magnets and had led her astray. But what about now? Had those magnets dislodged and finally led her to the right path? What if it was only a temporary change? Scarlett realized she had the possibility of great evil within her and it frightened her. She guessed as long as it continued to frighten her, things would be alright. When it stopped scaring her is when the problem would arise.

Stopping at the far end of the north side of the building, Scarlett found the wall caved in near the loading dock. The area was near where the explosion that had nearly destroyed her leg had occurred. Unconsciously, she brushed her fingers over her right leg to touch where the scarring still was. It would take awhile to heal completely but she'd never forget the horrible pain the wound had caused her for weeks.

Flipping on the flash light and placing her gun back in the holster underneath her leather jacket, Scarlett focused more on keeping sure footing in the collapsed building rather than on warding off evil doers. While stress was wearing down her nerves and her strength, her reflexes were still on the money so if anyone snuck up on her, she was confident in her abilities to take them down. Climbing through the gap in the rubble, Scarlett snuck through to a dark hallway, shining the flashlight back and forth in front of her feet to check her footing and prevent any accidents.

Once further into the loading dock which had been nearly completely caved in thanks to Iron Man and the battle he'd gone through with the folks from MedCo, Scarlett considered which way to head. Maybe she'd find some clues in the room where she'd met with Mikhail, Erick and Marcia when they had made her aware of her _new terms_. She was making it a point to repeat those three names to herself everyday so she would never forget them, at least not until she'd repaid them for every bit of wrong doing. Scarlett would make them regret holding her captive. Even with Erick dead, she felt the need to remember his name.

Since she was close to the secret room where she had once guessed Scott had been held prisoner, she decided it would be best to investigate that room first rather than the one where she had been initially made aware that she was no longer free to leave the premises. The loading dock was in such disarray it took Scarlett quite some time crawling over mangled concrete pillars and destroyed eighteen wheelers that had once carried cargo in and out of the building in order for her to get to the opposite end of the room to where the hidden door had once led her to a series of laboratories. She regretted not taking more interest in those rooms while she'd had the chance.

The storage closet that had disguised the secret door was in dire straits to say the least. Shelves and boxes crowded the floor to a point where it took Scarlett an immense amount of force to shove the door open at all. She climbed over boxes and shoved overturned shelves back into their upright positions until she could make a path to the door. Finally, at the other end of the room and out of breath, Scarlett made a mental note to start working out everyday again when she first woke up. Staying with Tony in Malibu had weakened the muscles that had already been deteriorated due to lack of nutrition and rest while she was held captive by MedCo.

Leaning against the door she closed her eyes to visualize the hallway where she'd gotten her ass kicked when she'd first attempted escape. It'd taken a number of men to bring her down and the memory of that pleased her. If she could do it then, while so weak from hunger and fatigue, she could do it now. Plus, with any luck, there would be no security agents on the other side this time, hunting her and aiming their stun guns at her.

After regaining her breath, Scarlett forced the door open after giving it a few hearty pushes, since the frame of the door had been damaged on the other side and had jammed it shut. Thankfully Scarlett was able to find leverage amongst the damaged storage closet so she could shove the door open. Her hands dropped to her sides after she managed to open the door.

The explosion that had initially knocked her back when she'd been attempting to find Scott during her escape from the facility had apparently destroyed the entire wing of the building that had once been hidden. Slowly walking through the door into the remains of the hallway she got the shivers down her spine. That wasn't right. It hadn't looked that way when she'd gotten up with her ears ringing.

When the explosion had nearly killed her, the building had been partially destroyed but she _distinctly_ recalled having to crawl through a gaping hole in the wall in order to get out into the desert. Now the walls were completely gone, the roof non-existent. All that remained of the series of laboratories were some support beams and the occasional frame of a doorway or piece of furniture that hadn't been entirely obliterated.

Scarlett turned in place, glancing once more at her surroundings. There had to have been a second explosion that had rocked that area of the facility. If she had been in that hallway when that sort of damage had been done she would've been killed on the spot. But she'd managed to escape with nothing but a bump to the head and chemical exposure seeping into a wound caused by shrapnel from the explosion.

Whatever MedCo had hidden in the laboratories there must have been sensitive enough for them to come back and destroy what remained. The still calm of the evening air in South Africa renewed the eerie feeling that had overwhelmed her upon first arriving on the scene. Slipping her phone out of the small bag she carried on her back, Scarlett scanned the area with her camera so she would have it to look upon later for reference just as she had done with the files she'd stolen from the SHIELD agent.

The uneasy feeling wouldn't leave her be so instead of lingering Scarlett crawled back through the doorway into the storage area and made her way through to the other end of the loading dock. What had MedCo been hiding in those laboratories that was so important that they would come back and destroy any signs of it? Something told her that if she hung around for too long something terrible would happen to her. Maybe the air _was_ toxic from the same chemicals that had maimed her leg or maybe there was something far worse awaiting her there.

When she'd been held captive she'd only suspected that they were holding _people_ captive there to use for leverage to get what they wanted. But now Scarlett's suspicions were far more devious. Maybe they _were_ holding people captive in that area of the building, but perhaps they weren't being used for leverage as Scott had been. Perhaps they were being used for _far_ worse than blackmail. The implications were staggering and disgusting, but Scarlett knew she had to take it into consideration.

She had to do everything she could to avoid capture by MedCo. Initially she had decided it wouldn't be so bad to be taken again so she could bring down the corporation from the inside. But if MedCo was capable of biological atrocities like she was guessing were part of the Alpha and Omega project then she didn't want to risk becoming a part of that. Hurrying as far away from the ruined corridor as she could, Scarlett left the loading dock and walked through the half destroyed hallway.

She recalled the path that had taken her from the room she'd met with her captors in from her dungeon down below. Of course, they had tried to keep her in the dark about locations so she wouldn't manage escape so easily, but they had severely underestimated her abilities at the time. Scarlett had always been good about thinking on her feet. It was long term planning that was her fatal flaw. She employed the policy that she'd deal with things when she got to that point but sometimes it blew up in her face.

Right now, things seemed to be going alright, besides the fact that Scarlett had found no files or information that would lead her to where MedCo had set up shop after the facility had been destroyed. The SHIELD files hadn't offered her any locations other than ones that had already been shut down. It seemed that even the security workers were led to their jobs in secret so they would be unable to leak any information if they felt so inclined to turn traitor.

Once in the office where she'd been told to build MedCo battle drones and where she'd been told Tony Stark had been behind her enslavement, Scarlett felt disappointment in the pit of her stomach. Even the television screen that had once reflected Scott's bound and gagged image to her was gone. MedCo had done an excellent job of cleaning up after themselves. Kicking at the rubble on the floor in frustration, Scarlett cursed under her breath but continued to search the room even though it was void of any furniture.

Just as she was about to turn back to the hallway to go search her old cell underground, if it was still intact, she stopped short when something caught her eye. The light of the fading day had shimmered off of something on the floor in the far corner. Walking curiously over to it, Scarlett moved her flashlight beam across the floor until it shimmered again.

Leaning down, Scarlett carefully wiped a gloved hand over the glittering item on the floor and then revealed a half mangled old bronze key. It seemed peculiar and out of place, like someone had dropped it long after the explosion. Deciding she would keep the key and see if she could find the maker and what it unlocked, Scarlett placed it in a plastic baggy and then put it in her bag. After she'd gotten off the plane she'd gotten changed into black pants, boots, a black leather jacket over a black tank top and some black leather gloves. As much as she didn't like to wear pants after what had happened to her leg while working with Tony to recreate his new element for his energy project she had decided that climbing through the rubble would likely cause her injury if not protected and the risk would be worth taking.

After she was sure the key was in her bag and hidden, Scarlett left what had once been an office and started down the familiar path to the stairwell where she hoped she could find a way down to the room that she'd been held captive in for weeks. Unfortunately upon reaching the stairwell, Scarlett discovered it was caved in and too dangerous to go down. She'd have to find another way to get to the floor below.

Continuing down the hallway, Scarlett searched for some of the more damaged areas of the building. In order to aid in her escape from the facility after she'd been held captive she'd set off a terrible explosion in the room she'd been held in, so it was likely that if anything remained of that area in general, then there would be a collapsed floor she could crawl through nearby. Sure enough, when she got closer to the rooms that had once been above her prison, they were nowhere to be seen. Half of them had only the frames of the room remaining while their floors had been either blown out of the building or had sunken to the floor below.

Pulling her hair back into a loose ponytail and out of her way, Scarlett pulled some rope out of her bag and found a sturdy support beam that hadn't been compromised in the hallway. Then she lowered the rope to the ground below and descended into the sinister darkness of what had once been the lower levels of the MedCo facility.

"Why do I feel like Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are going to appear at any second and erase my memory?" Scarlett whispered beneath her breath, hoping to alleviate the stress with some humor. Pointing her flashlight in front of her Scarlett started through the room and what remained of the hallway of the basement. If she could find the remains of her old workspace, maybe she'd find something of note. If nothing else, maybe she could find some closure.

Something tumbled behind her, rolling to the ground and making a clatter of noise that left Scarlett feeling unsettled. Turning quickly, she flashed her light in the direction of the sound but found nothing but misplaced rubble. Apparently when she'd descended into the basement she'd disrupted the delicate balance of decay and had caused it to shift overhead. The remaining framework groaned threateningly but then quieted after a few moments where Scarlett held her breath to listen and decide whether or not she needed to run for her life.

Once the rubble had settled Scarlett exhaled deeply and lowered her light then hung her head back before rolling her shoulders to ease the tension in her muscles.

"I take it back, it's far more likely to run into Albert Wesker." Shaking the uneasy feeling from her system, Scarlett turned around and walked through the remains of the hallway. The damage was far more severe in the basement than it had been on the floor above. While there was still an easy enough path for her to follow through the debris, each time she tried to move something out of her way to give herself the proper space to crawl through, the building groaned to remind her that it could cave in at any moment.

"Just a _little_ further…" Scarlett whispered but was then surprised when she reached the familiar door of what had once been her private laboratory and had doubled as her prison. The door was completely intact. In fact, it looked new. Her heart sunk. When she'd escaped, the place had to have been decimated. The explosion had certainly gone off and had destroyed the area around it, so why was the one room that _should've_ been ruined in perfect condition?

Pinching her arm to make sure it wasn't another terrible nightmare, Scarlett twitched from the annoying pain but was convinced what she was experiencing was reality. Again, she picked up her phone and took pictures of what should've been destroyed. Each picture was sent off to the server she'd set up before she'd come on her trip.

Pulling her gun out of the holster underneath her jacket, Scarlett made sure it was cocked, ready, and the safety was off before opening the door. If she hadn't had a sure grip on her gun she would've dropped it upon seeing what was inside.

The laboratory was just as she remembered it. The tables at the far end were intact; even the computer was still functioning on some kind of battery backup. Boxes emblazoned with the Stark Industries logo lined the wall, filled with the same supplies she'd used to build the robots that had caused her such trauma. Holding her gun still, she searched the ground for blood stains that should've been left over from her own wound and from the man that she had killed in her escape attempts but there were no signs that a struggle had ever taken place.

Someone had taken the time and energy to _rebuild_ the room she'd been held in. Turning to examine the room Scarlett stopped short and this time lowered her weapon when she saw what hung on the wall near the door. The wall was papered from head to toe with the blueprints of the robots she'd created and had subsequently burned before her escape. Quickly raising the weapon she'd nearly dropped with shaking hands, Scarlett backed up so she could take a better look at the wall. Her stomach was aching in objection and her head was swimming.

Hesitantly, she took out her phone and photographed the new set up. Every inch of it she would record until she could recreate the entire room with just photographs. The computer looked suspicious when she tried to turn it on and she got the distinct feeling that it contained something that would cause her harm so she left it alone.

Resisting the urge to vomit, Scarlett instead holstered her weapon and started to rip the blueprints off the wall one by one and tore them up in anger. She yelled loudly and started to push over boxes and throw supplies across the room in frustration. Stopping short in her anger she saw something beneath the blueprints on the wall that caught her attention and was able to swallow her irritation long enough to allow her curiosity to get the better of her.

Returning to the blueprints she started to pull them off the wall, tossing them behind her until the message hidden beneath them had been revealed.

_You're Not as Smart as You Think You Are_

Feeling the corner of her mouth twitch in annoyance Scarlett turned, gun in hand again and shot at the screen of the computer until her clip had been emptied. She watched it spark and crackle then eventually dim and die. Glass bits of the screen flew across the room but caused Scarlett no harm. Once the room was silent after the computer screen died, Scarlett put away the gun and placed her hand to her mouth and closed her eyes. She _had_ to get it together. There was too much still to be done.

MedCo may have had the upper hand but Scarlett had more resources than they thought she did. Even if she was miles behind them she'd find a way to catch up. Her resilience and determination would help her through the process of finding her captors and wiping them off the face of the planet. Any guilt she'd started to feel for possibly having to take their lives faded with their taunt. They'd realized she was playing their game and she knew that the real danger was just beginning.

Once her hands had stopped shaking from the anger she felt Scarlett took pictures of what remained of the computer and the message that had been left to taunt her on the wall. She didn't bother with the hard drive on the computer. Whatever information was being kept on there was likely to be falsified or designed to taunt her further and wouldn't be worth her effort. Plus she had the distinct impression that it was designed to blow up if she tampered with any of the hardware. It had been dangerous enough for her to shoot at the monitor. She'd gotten lucky that her anger hadn't cost her more than she had to give.

Later she'd called the authorities and make them aware that there was explosive materials within the damaged site and hopefully they'd be able to demolish what was left of the building so that no one else would get hurt if they stumbled upon the wreckage and accidentally triggered whatever mechanism had been to punish Scarlett.

Deciding she'd had enough of the taunts MedCo had left for her and she wasn't going to get anything else out of investigating the wreckage Scarlett started out of the room and back through the precariously balanced hallway. She had a much easier time navigating the destroyed corridor on her way out than she had on her way in. Maybe it was because she was so angry she didn't care what she disturbed and managed to ignore the eerie sounds echoing through the building or maybe it was because she had managed to make a path through the wreckage on her initial way through, but she was able to get out relatively quickly.

By the time she climbed back up the rope that she'd tied to the first floor, the sun had set and the air had cooled down considerably from the heat of the day. Scarlett untied the rope she'd used, wrapped it back up and then put it in her bag for later use. At the end of the hall, Scarlett found a half demolished room with a few tables that were easy enough to clear off and a chair that hadn't been completely mangled.

Setting down her bag she started to go over the photographs that she'd taken throughout the building. She stopped again on the key. It didn't look like it unlocked anything from the MedCo building. In fact, the style wasn't similar to _anything_ she'd seen before. The shape and length of it was enough to remind her of a real dungeon from medieval days. When she got the chance, she'd take it to a locksmith to find out more about it.

The sounds of something shuffling behind her brought her out of her thoughts. Quickly she turned around and aimed her weapon at the person who had undoubtedly made the noise. Tony stood behind her, leaning back with his arms up at his sides, eyes wide at the sight of the gun she held in her hands. He noted her hands were trembling and how disheveled she looked but was far more wary of the gun she held. It was the first time she'd ever pointed a weapon at _him_ and it had thrown him off guard.

"Hey, hey now… this is a little _too_ kinky, even for me." Offering the smile that Scarlett found both charming and annoying, Tony hoped that he could put her off her guard just enough to get her to relax. But whatever had rattled Scarlett's nerves was far more serious than he'd anticipated. Tony had gotten an alert from Jarvis after he'd left the meeting with Agent Pierce that Scarlett had boarded a flight to South Africa so Tony had arranged for his private jet to take him to a nearby private airfield. From there her movements had been predictable and he knew exactly where he'd find her.

"What are you doing here?" Scarlett whispered, even though she knew the answer, considering they'd been over that particular topic a handful of times in the last few weeks.

"Looking for you, obviously. I found a gun though. See?" Tony gestured to it then carefully placed his hand on top of the barrel and urged her to point it away from him.

"Relax." Scarlett put the gun back in its holster and sighed heavily. "If I was going to shoot you I would've done it a long time ago."

"I have absolutely no doubt of that. It's not every day that I get a gun shoved in my face though. It was exhilarating in a bad way, I've got to be honest." Tony watched her organizing her things in her bag again and then approached her cautiously. "But, you are sexy holding that gun. I feel like I should be making a Whole Nine Yards reference here but you have _far_ too much clothes on for that."

Scarlett glanced at him over her shoulder then shook her head.

"Nothing, huh?" Tony chuckled then walked to her side, sitting on the edge of the table once he was sure it wasn't destroyed and would hold his weight. "So did you find anything useful?" Scarlett didn't respond but continued to look through the photos she'd taken. Why would MedCo send her a message instead of choosing to wait for her to come back if they were so sure she'd return there looking for clues? It would've been the perfect opportunity to abduct her. "This place looks very dangerous."

"You should know it is." Scarlett didn't look up at him this time and instead continued to go through the files on her phone.

"Yeah, I did a number on it didn't I?" Tony smiled in remembrance, exhaling and puffing his chest out as if proud.

"It looks like someone _else_ came and got rid of anything of note after you were finished if it makes you feel better."

"You didn't _really_ expect to find anything here did you? MedCo isn't that sloppy."

"I figured it couldn't hurt to look. I was right about a few things if nothing else." Scarlett didn't bother to elaborate on what she had been right about.

"This is where we first met, you know." Tony considered, looking around.

"_You_ met _me_ here, I was unconscious and bleeding if you recall." Scarlett stepped a bit away from him, pocketing her phone so that Tony wouldn't catch a glimpse of what she had on it.

"I didn't forget." Tony's smile faded as he watched her walk toward the doorway. Her hands were shaking and her eyes were sunken in. Something was bothering her and had been for awhile and while he could take guesses at what the true nature of it was, he couldn't put the whole picture together without her input. "I thought you were dying when I found you. I didn't know you then but I didn't want you to die, either."

"Well, I didn't." Scarlett turned to face him and sighed heavily.

"Scarlett, you're not okay." Tony folded his arms over his chest. He wasn't very good at having serious conversations but he knew the right time for them. "You haven't been for a long time. You need help. I can _help_ you with this. I'm not going to make you _stop_ chasing them."

"I can't keep doing this." Scarlett shook her head. Tony was surprised to hear that and actually glanced around him like some elaborate joke was being played and someone was going to jump out and reveal he was on candid camera.

"I know you can't."

"No not that, _this._" Scarlett gestured between them. "I asked you to stay out of this for your safety and you keep running in here like the white knight but I'm not a princess trapped in a tower. You keep getting me drunk and buying me dinner and it's very cute and very noble of you but this is more dangerous than you think it is."

"I'm _Iron Man_ I think that I can handle a little danger." Tony scoffed, puffing out his chest proudly.

"But you're _not_ right now! You're Tony Stark following his heart and as sweet and confusing as that notion is for everybody, we can't do this anymore. I can't physically handle the stress. Go _home_." Scarlett started to walk away from him. If she could leave him behind for the night then maybe she'd be able to get some _real_ work done. She doubted he was the type of man that would just roll over and wait for her to finish her job and had begun to expect him to keep following her trail of bread crumbs but after what she'd found waiting for her underground, she was scared that MedCo would start to hunt him as well just so they could get to her.

Then again, she considered that Tony was far too important a public figure for them to take him captive and never let him go again. People would actually _look_ for Tony if he went missing and that had been proven when he'd been taken by hostile forces in Afghanistan years ago while doing a weapons demonstration. On the other hand, Scarlett was the perfect target. She'd spent years severing ties with people from her past and keeping her identity secret so that if she went missing no one would be the wiser. Even SHIELD had no idea where she was half the time and wouldn't seem alarmed if she suddenly disappeared off the face of the planet.

The only person that would _really_ look for her was Tony and it was possible that was going to land him in some serious trouble.

"You know, it's funny." Tony walked from the table he'd been seated on, following her to the doorway. "You keep saying that you can't do this with me anymore and yet you still _keep_ doing it. Your resolve hasn't stopped you from giving into me." Scarlett turned to face him again and leaned against what remained of the frame of the door to the hallway.

"I can't help it that I like you."

"You mean you can't help it that you _love_ me." Tony corrected, leaning his hand against the wall next to where she stood.

"Did your parents not tell you that you were loved enough as a child? How many times do I have to say it before you stop asking me to keep reminding you?" Scarlett didn't mind saying it, but she did enjoy giving Tony a hard time on the subject.

"On the contrary, mom told me she loved me all the time as a kid, dad was cold and distant but I didn't tell him I loved him either. I have _plenty_ of people that love me. It's about _who_ says it not how many times it's said." Tony smirked, reaching to brush his fingers over her cheek to wipe away some dirt from her skin before tilting her so she was looking up at him.

"That's _almost_ sweet." Scarlett swatted his hand away and then started back into the room. Tony waited for her to turn around before plucking the hair tie away from her hair and letting her curls fall out of the pony tail. He'd done it so many times that he had it down to a science. Scarlett stopped, licked her lips and then turned to look at him skeptically. "_Seriously?_"

"Do you have any idea how much sexier it is like that? I keep telling you but I don't think you're really listening." Tony tossed the hair tie over his shoulder and into the rubble in hopes Scarlett wouldn't go searching for it again.

"I wasn't going for sexy right now. I was going for not getting my hair caught on anything." Scarlett gestured toward the destroyed building and then rested her hands on her hips in annoyance. "I'm _tired_ Tony, go home."

"Not without you. As far as I'm concerned I am home." Tony shook his head and then approached her again. She wasn't going to get away from him that easily. "What did you find in those SHIELD files you stole? You nearly caused that Agent to have a nervous breakdown, you know. Something about ruining her career."

"I'll give them back." Scarlett avoided the first question and only addressed the comment about Agent Pierce, batting her eyelashes.

"But what was _in_ them?" Tony peered toward the bag she'd left on the table, wondering if the files were inside of it so he could get a look at them.

"Nothing I didn't already know." Scarlett lied. There wasn't too much she had gathered from the files except for the information regarding the biological weapons MedCo had been producing and the fact that they had an agent undercover within the company's ranks. "SHIELD is much further behind than they think they are."

"Why don't you tell me just how far behind they are over dinner?" Tony pried, hoping to get her to relax again. Every time he caught up with her she seemed to be a bundle of nerves.

"You and I both know that when you ask me to dinner it isn't _really_ going to be dinner." Scarlett picked up her bag when she saw him eyeing it and placed it over her shoulder once again.

"Do we now?" Tony stepped closer and picked up her hand, relieved that she let him and didn't make attempts to pull away. "What is it we do then when we go into a restaurant and order food? I thought that _was_ dinner. Have I been wrong all these years? Why hasn't Pepper corrected me? That's a pretty serious mistake."

"Dinner is Stark code for scotch and sex." Scarlett glanced down at his hand on hers warily and then back up at the man who was smiling down at her again. She cursed herself, as she had done many times in the past, for giving into Tony's charm and allure. No matter how hard she'd tried to resist she'd fallen for him and continued to fall for him time and time again.

"Well, that's only _part_ of dinner with Tony Stark. You never give me the chance to _really_ wine and dine you." Tony pulled her close and rested a hand on her waist, pretending to twirl her around the floor in a dance, keeping her close against him. If he could distract her enough, as he had done many times before, he could at least keep her for the night and that was just what he needed. One of these days he'd be able to get her to stay with him for good, at least he hoped.

"Oh really, and what is so special about a date with you, hmm?" Scarlett placed her hand on his chest and stopped him from making her dance.

"Why don't you give me the chance to show you?" Tony leaned to whisper in her ear. He never did anything with minimal effort. Tony Stark always put one hundred and ten percent into every little thing he did. "Dinner, dancing… I'll take you places you can't go without me."

"You underestimate me, Tony." Scarlett was mentally coaching herself so she could escape his arms but it wasn't working very well. The simple fact was that Scarlett didn't _want_ to escape.

"I think _you_ underestimate _me_." Tony smirked, making sure she didn't pull away even though she made very few attempts.

"Tony, this isn't a good idea." Scarlett whispered under her breath but her heart was sending her desperate signals to kiss him. "It's dangerous here."

"Which is why we should go to dinner. Restaurants are way less dangerous than abandoned research facilities last time I checked. Well, that depends on the restaurant I guess…" Tony reasoned. Ringing came from Scarlett's pocket and they both glanced down toward the phone as it signaled she had an incoming call. The smile faded from Scarlett's lips and she reached for the phone but Tony grabbed her hand to stop her. She looked up at him, ready to scold him but he interrupted her. "Don't answer it." She exhaled deeply and prepared to disappoint him yet again. "Scarlett, you're more important than what's on the other end of that call."

Scarlett considered his proposal and actually ignoring the call but knew in reality she couldn't do that. Tony wanted her to live a fairy tale where things were carefree and he could fix her problems. But that just wasn't possible. What would happen if she went back with him to Malibu? The same thing that had happened the last time she was there. More blood on her hands was something that Scarlett just wasn't willing to risk. That was what would happen if she went back to life with Tony Stark. MedCo had made it perfectly clear where they stood on the matter. The line in the sand had been drawn.

"Please?" Tony whispered, tilting her chin up to look at him again. He was desperate to get her somewhere safe. Even if she didn't stay with him, she looked pale and shaken. Something had happened at the abandoned wreckage that she wasn't sharing with him and all Tony really wanted to do was to make things _better_ so they could start their lives off right. If anyone deserved a chance at _real_ happiness it was the two of them. He'd decided that on his way after her the first time. How many times had he sabotaged relationships because he didn't think he'd be good enough to be a part of them? Not anymore. After years of filling an emptiness he refused to admit existed with women, sex, party drugs, alcohol, money and fame, Tony had realized he'd been sabotaging any attempts to find real happiness. He guessed Scarlett had done the same, but with other vices.

Scarlett resisted, considered kissing him and then pulled away abruptly, retrieved her cell phone from her pocket and answered the phone call. Tony grunted in frustration, hung his head back and then turned around to wipe his hand over his face. When she got off the phone he was sure that they were going to end up verbally sparring as they often did before she ran off. Why couldn't she _listen_ to him? At the same time, Tony completely understood what she was going through and why she couldn't give up on her quest for redemption and vengeance. He'd done the same thing but there had been no one but Pepper trying to stop him. And Pepper hadn't done a very good job and hadn't tried very hard to do so either. Pepper had good intentions, but was nowhere near as stubborn, nosy, and determined as Tony was.

When Tony turned around to take Scarlett's phone and hang up on whoever had called her, Scarlett was nowhere to be found. Tony turned to look around the room once again in case she'd hidden or snuck out the doorway. He guessed that she'd jumped the wall and headed through the desert. Tony hurried to do the same but by the time he got over the wall, with nowhere near the same agility that Scarlett had likely done it with, the woman was already long gone.

Out of breath, Scarlett stopped at the first building she found, which was a rundown abandoned home that had been damaged in the battle between Iron Man and MedCo. She hid behind one of the walls in case Tony came looking for her. Leaning her head against the back of it she swallowed the guilt she felt for leaving Tony amongst the ruins and the possible danger there but knew he wouldn't linger for very long without her. Plus, MedCo didn't seem very interested in Tony, at least not yet. Scarlett was grateful for that if nothing else.

Pulling her phone back out and looking down at the number of the call she missed, Scarlett recognized it as one of the contacts she'd used years ago to find jobs on the underground. When she'd first started looking for MedCo again after leaving Malibu she'd called in a few favors she was owed to try and get information on the rogue company. Before she could call the number back she coughed and sat catching her breath. It felt like something was caught in her airway and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't clear it. Maybe she wasn't just out of shape.

Vaguely considering that Tony was right and she wasn't okay, Scarlett disregarded that idea for the time being. If it ever started hindering her progress, she would deal with it then. When she had gotten rid of MedCo she would have time to deal with whatever physical ailment was plaguing her. It very well could've just been from the dust that she'd kicked up at the site of the wreckage but then again, Scarlett doubted that. She'd been coughing long before she'd traveled into the desert.

Once she could breathe properly Scarlett got up and started walking as stealthily as she could through the remainders of the small town until she found civilization again. Eventually she'd find a place to get a ride to the airport so she could head on her way. She'd have to stop at her hotel room first and grab her belongings but that wouldn't take very long. If she stayed the night in Cape Town as she had initially planned then she would likely run into Tony again and her resolve was wearing thin as she'd clearly displayed when she'd nearly given in to his wishes while he'd been holding her in his arms only moments ago.

Calling the number back, Scarlett waited until the Indian man picked up on the other line. He'd been a long time contact, she never knew his name and he never knew hers. It was an arrangement that had always worked for them. In her mind, Scarlett had always referred to him as her _Deep Throat, _even if that was a little Mulder and Scully of her.

"I thought something had happened to you, beautiful. It is unlike you to miss my call." The familiar voice on the other end of the phone spoke to her. When she'd first gotten in touch with him years ago, his confidence had been threatening and nerve wrenching but now that she'd been keeping in touch with this man for years, she found his voice warm and fatherly. Scarlett stopped to consider that there was something screwed up about feeling that way about the man who had given her missions over the years that constantly put her life in danger.

"I was a little tied up." Scarlett responded, still out of breath.

"Figuratively or literally?"

"Figuratively today, sorry to disappoint."

"I do always look forward to your stories. Some of my most entertaining." The Indian man clicked his tongue in amusement and then cleared his throat. "I have news for you."

"About my favor?" Scarlett hoped, glancing both ways before hurrying across an open square of the town and closer to her hotel room.

"Yes," He began, "though there is not much to tell you I am afraid."

"Any little bit will help." Scarlett found the worn looking motel she'd paid for the night and hurried to her room. She wouldn't be in danger talking about her job here on the phone. The other sorts of folks who were staying at the filthy place were as far in over their head as Scarlett was and far less capable.

"In my search for this company I have found three different satellite signals from different places up north."

"Do tell."

"One is outside of Banjul."

"In Senegal?" Scarlett cocked an eyebrow curiously. She hadn't traveled all over Africa but had spent some time in Senegal in her youth before she'd gotten into the underground scene.

"Yes, madam."

"Where else?" Scarlett knew she'd need more specific information but she could at least muse over the locations and what connections they had to MedCo since she didn't have the time or the means to look at a map at the current moment. She slipped the keycard into her hotel room door and hurriedly picked up her suitcase.

"A town outside of Madrid and one outside of Istanbul." He finished up neatly and she could hear curiosity in his voice. "That is all I could find. Are you sure this job is one you want to pursue?"

"Thank you for your help." Scarlett ignored the question but felt confused. Why were there so many of them and why were they so far apart? Was there any method to MedCo's madness or was that part of their genius? Either way, she was starting to grow weary of the constant traveling she had to do to get to these places.

"I have other jobs for you. You are still my most requested consultant."

"No, thanks. I am flattered though." Scarlett smiled as she approached the motel front desk and paid for her hotel before checking out and rejecting the refund she was offered since she hadn't stayed for more than a few hours.

"I don't like this job you are on now." Her contact's voice became more serious. "It's like that other one I warned you about. Dangerous and shady. You recall what happened last time? I do not want to hear more stories like that."

"_Everything_ I do is dangerous. Besides, this job is it for me. I'm retiring." Scarlett joked, but the man on the other line didn't laugh. She was starting to think that no one trusted in her abilities anymore.

"I will keep looking for more information then if you insist."

"I do appreciate your help."

"You should considering retiring to India." She could hear the playful tone return to his voice and felt relieved.

"You know how I feel about the desert, sorry." Scarlett had spent most of her life in the desert doing nasty jobs for people who didn't want to get their hands dirty. When she left, she planned on staying as far away from it as she possibly could.

"I will send you specific coordinates as soon as I can. Good luck." He spoke seriously before hanging up. Scarlett slipped her phone in her pocket and then called the cab company she'd used to take her to the small town nearest the facility to MedCo in the first place. After she was well on her way, she would make sure that Tony was alright and then she would continue on with her job.

As she got into the back of the dirty cab that would take her to the airport, she couldn't help but think just how much she would rather be out to dinner with Tony than getting on a plane to Dakar.


	5. Abandoned

[[Just a note! I know that people probably think Scarlett's being mean, but well, she's not lol. There is a method behind her madness. Besides, if she was just all happy and snuggly with Tony now that they've together it would both be out of character and lead for a pretty boring story. There will be resolution to what's going on between them, I swear. Thank you for reading!]]

By the time that the plane touched down at the airport in Dakar Scarlett was physically and mentally drained to the point of exhaustion. Why _hadn't_ she stayed the night with Tony like she'd wanted to? Was it simply stubbornness? She couldn't find the words to explain her reasoning but there was a crippling fear welling within her when she considered teaming up with the billionaire. The upsides to teaming up with him were easy enough to list, but the downsides were far scarier and it seemed Scarlett was afraid to admit them out loud.

Deep down though, she _knew_ Tony had been right about her when he'd told her that she wasn't okay. At the rapid rate she was declining, she was going to get herself killed or end up in the hospital at the very least. As much as she knew that Tony was right about many things, she knew chasing MedCo was still something that she had to do for herself. It wasn't that she was trying to _hurt_ Tony in the process by running from him; it was quite the opposite. Solitude had always been part of how Scarlett functioned out in the field.

It had been how she kept anonymous and part of how she'd kept others involved or closer to her safe. Working with Tony would be a completely different bag of worms. What if she _couldn't_ protect him? If any harm came to him on her behalf, she'd never forgive herself. Her chest physically stung at the idea of it, or _maybe_ it was just the congestion.

_'That's right,'_ she thought, _'just keep floating down that river of denial.'_

Part of Scarlett knew that he was going to follow behind her no matter what she told him and she'd likely run into him somewhere in Senegal sometime soon. Their stubbornness was going to get them _both_ killed. No matter how many times she tried to list the options and reevaluate the situation, Scarlett couldn't see a way out that didn't involve sacrifice by one of them. She was trying to spare Tony from having to be the one to make that sacrifice. But what gave her the right to choose for him? _Nothing_ did. Scarlett was trying to remove the option entirely so Tony wouldn't have to be the one to choose.

Being on the outside of the complex situation looking in was probably infuriating. Pepper likely thought Scarlett was a mad woman and would probably be advising Tony constantly to give up the ghost as quickly as he could manage. But even Pepper had to know that it wasn't as simple as that for Tony just like it wasn't that simple for Scarlett to push him away. Despite how Tony begged and pled with her to stay with him every night and to let him help her through her journey, part of Scarlett knew that he was enjoying the chase as much as she was. There was something dangerous and sexy about their cat and mouse game but Scarlett was worried it'd become _too_ dangerous particularly after what she'd read about in the S.H.I.E.L.D. files.

Unable to process the conflict as her head spun, Scarlett waited for the plane to empty before exiting. She'd spent the flight, once again, sick to her stomach and fighting her gag reflex to avoid throwing up. Whatever sickness she'd contracted throughout her travels was making its way through her system and violently at that. Rushing off the plane once it was emptied, Scarlett found the nearest restroom and spent the next twenty minutes emptying what remained of her dinner from the night before from her stomach. Confident there was nothing left in her system to get rid of, Scarlett felt safe to get up and leave the restroom.

Deciding if she didn't get some _real_ rest before she continued out into the desert she would be more than likely to pass out and get into some kind of trouble of her own making, Scarlett left the airport in search of a safe haven. Light headedness made her move at a snail's pace thanks to dehydration and sickness. After finding a hotel near the airport, she booked a room and then hurried inside. Immediately she curled up on the bed and fell asleep without bothering to even pull the sheets up to cover her body and keep warm.

The next seven hours were spent tossing and turning in a cold sweat, revisiting flashes of her past mixed with a twisted subconscious horror that she repressed deep within. Visions of hospital beds that melded with her flesh haunted her thoughts. Men without faces speaking languages she was unfamiliar with surrounded her. Things designed to assist in her recovery poked and prodded her flesh and burned as though real each time she closed her eyes.

The nightmares of her past had become so frequent that Scarlett had started to avoid sleeping altogether because of them. Not sleeping wasn't exactly _aiding _her seeing as she had come down with something that had at last incapacitated her and her judgment was obviously skewed, considering how many times she'd wound up drunk and in bed with Tony. Then again, she wasn't sure she could blame her insomnia and exhaustion for the things she ended up doing with Tony.

Several times through the afternoon Scarlett woke up sick to her stomach or out of breath from some horror created by her mind. But seven hours later, she finally lay awake in bed, having gotten enough rest to function and her stomach finally not objecting to the idea of moving. Sheets damp from night sweats, Scarlett laid shivering on the comforter and stared at the ceiling above her. The worst nightmare was always the last and always the one that kept her from falling back into a restless slumber.

Tony had started to appear in her nightmares, often accompanied by Sergei and Scott. She was sure that a shrink would tell her that her subconscious mind was reflecting the guilt she felt. If there was one thing her life didn't lack, it was guilt. Guilt for not being able to love Scott the way he loved her, guilt for having put Sergei's life at risk, and guilt for putting Tony in constant danger when her heart was begging her to go home with him or even to let him help her. Letting him help her scared him. She'd never been incapable of completing something on her own before.

The last nightmare she'd suffered that afternoon, and had consequently inspired her to stay awake, Scarlett found Tony in the hellish prison she remembered being trapped in from her last job in Afghanistan. Unfortunately it was a room that she'd never forget no matter how hard she tried. He'd been hanging by his wrists, bloody and broken from the ceiling in the center of the room just as she had been for a period of time near the end, before she'd at last escaped.

The arc reactor was on the floor in front of him, removed from his chest, crushed and broken. His body was cold and lifeless after having obviously been tortured, hanging there on display as some sort of twisted punishment for Scarlett's misdeeds. Immediately she scrambled onto the floor and had tried to put the reactor back together so she could help him keep the shrapnel in his chest from reaching his heart, but by the time she reached Tony it had been too late.

Try as she might, she couldn't revive him and time seemed to pass too slowly during her attempts. Hands trembling too violently to continue and eyes blurred with tears, she was forced to stop trying to save his life. When she collapsed to the ground in front of him in tears, she could hear him suddenly speaking to her. When she glanced up at him hopefully he still hung there dead in front of her. And yet despite that, he spoke. He blamed her for getting him involved in her mess. Every word past his lips was like venom, stinging at her and reminding her of what she already knew.

Tony wanted to fight her battles for her.

But if she let him do that and he got hurt, or worse, he died then it would be blood on her hands. The only thing Scarlett wanted was for Tony to be _safe _and _happy_. She couldn't get him involved any further in her mess. If anything happened to him in the process she would never forgive herself. Even the little that she'd learned about his history had convinced Scarlett that Tony had been through more than enough already and she wanted to spare him further torment. Her on the other hand, she knew she could handle what was coming.

Wiping her hand over her face, Scarlett sat up, elbows on her knees and head in her hands. Her subconscious was reminding her of what she was already well aware of. Destruction followed in her path wherever she went. By going after MedCo and eliminating the immediate threat, Scarlett was hoping that she could keep danger at bay long enough to get a head start on her relationship with Tony and maybe give her some time to right some of her wrongs.

What made her think that she could actually have a _normal_ relationship with _anyone_, nonetheless _Tony Stark?_ Scott had been fool enough to stick by her side for years and look where it had gotten him: nearly killed and in constant danger and fear that the woman he cared for was going to end up arrested or worse.

Why the hell did she suddenly have to form a conscience after years of managing to avoid thinking about _any_ consequences? Things were much less complicated before she'd gone to work for MedCo. Or at least they had been a type of complicated that she'd been used to handling. Unconsciously, Scarlett brushed her fingers over the renewed scar on her chest that had been burnt in the shape of Tony's arc reactor. It was something she often did when she was feeling overwhelmed. Stupid as it may seem, the small action brought her comfort. Finally she opened her eyes and glanced down at it.

If things hadn't happened _exactly_ the way they had she never would've met Tony and she never would've known that there was more to life than the next mission. Scarlett had always considered herself exceptionally intelligent, but in many ways she was a complete fool. Worst of all, she was _lonely_ and missed Tony and that made her feel pathetic.

Lying back on the bed with a flop, she stared at the ceiling and considered the last time she had missed _anyone_. Hell, she even missed Jarvis and Pepper. Surprisingly, she actually missed Jarvis almost as much as she missed Tony. The artificially intelligent computer had proven so delightfully quirky that it had wormed its way into her heart. Deciding she could no longer linger on the far too many thoughts racing around in circles in her mind, Scarlett wobbled out of bed. Dizziness made the room spin but closing her eyes and standing still helped kick the feeling.

Vaguely, she considered seeing a doctor, but knew there would be time for that later. Right now she had too much to do and she'd put it off for long enough that particular day. Besides that, Scarlett was afraid that if she saw a doctor they'd recommend treatment she didn't have time for. The more time she wasted on her health the more chances MedCo would have to move on and leave her without even a trail of breadcrumbs to follow.

Lightheaded from what she assumed was still dehydration thanks to the motion sickness from the plane Scarlett took a bottle of water from the hotel room fridge and guzzled it as quickly as she could. After showering and getting changed into something that looked less like what a cat burglar would wear, she left the room, her bag tucked discreetly underneath some clothing in the closet.

Scarlett never left anything in the hotel safe. That was the first place a burglar would look. Instead she'd rigged up some wiring to place underneath her bag so that if it wasn't picked up in the exact manner she intended then the person grabbing it would be electrocuted. To a petty thief, a bag that constantly electrocuted them _wasn't_ worth stealing.

Little daylight remained after Scarlett had woken up and for that she was grateful. Cliché as it was, sneaking around really _was_ much easier in the darkness than it was during the sunny hours of the day. In this particular instance Scarlett was unsure of what she would find or what kind of mission it would be, so she chose night as her desired camouflage. It was possible the lead was no kind of lead at all and she wouldn't find anything of interest. But it was also possible that Scarlett would run into MedCo forces and have to make use of the night to stay hidden and safe.

The cling in Scarlett's throat that she'd decided had been from the hours spent vomiting on the plane hadn't faded with rest as she had hoped it would. So once she was out of the hotel, Scarlett spent the last hour of daylight walking through the nearest market. Then she would head to the coordinates on her phone with the assistance of the GPS built into it.

Walking around the marketplace, Scarlett casually stopped by a stand where a woman selling home remedies for various ailments sat. She asked about some of the symptoms she'd been suffering once she discovered the woman could speak French. Scarlett wasn't fluent, but had learned enough when she'd worked in Senegal that she could get by. While the woman didn't have much for her vomiting or restlessness she did offer some ginger root for the nausea and eucalyptus tea for the cling in her throat that the woman guessed was actually in her chest. Figuring it couldn't hurt to try the remedies, Scarlett took the offer and paid double what she owed for the time the woman had given her and the kindness she had shown.

Once the sun had gone past the horizon and Scarlett had safely stowed the items she purchased in the small bag she carried with her, she made her way, by various means of travel, to the coordinates of the town outside of Banjul, Gambia. After walking for quite some time in the darkness, Scarlett pocketed her phone since she knew she was heading in the right direction and continued onward.

In the distance she spied a barrier of some kind and as she got closer discovered that it was a wooden fence, surrounded by a badly battered chain link one for extra protection. Something devastating had happened to the chain link fence that had made it bend and rust in an odd manner. The wooden one looked like it had been added later to provide proper structural support to the ruined barrier.

Chills ran down the length of Scarlett's spine and she immediately got signals in her brain telling her she should back off and leave. Leaving wasn't true to her nature before she'd gotten what she'd come for, even if she didn't know exactly what that was quite yet. Keeping her distance, Scarlett casually walked the perimeter in search of some sign alerting her of what was hidden behind the fence. Over the top of it she could see buildings and framework for other structures but what she didn't see was most alarming.

There were no lights beyond the wooden fence. Not even the sound of a person walking around or an animal on the hunt. No fire or the smell of smoke could be found in the air. The town she'd been led to seemed absolutely dead, just as the site in South Africa had been. An unearthly heaviness hung on the area and it seemed to be keeping both animals and people away from it. Finally spotting a white sign zip tied to a chained gate on the perimeter, Scarlett grimaced.

_Condamnés_. Condemned_._

Not surprised by this turn of events, Scarlett snapped a photo of the sign with her phone and then kept walking along the perimeter in search of an easy way to sneak past the fence to find out what was hidden behind it. It wasn't abnormal for buildings to be condemned in that particular area of the world but for an entire _town_ to be hidden behind a fence? That seemed peculiar. What had happened there that had left the place a shell of its former self and cut off from the area around it?

Scarlett didn't know but she was planning on finding out. Notes on the Alpha and Omega project once again popped into her thoughts as she considered that maybe some kind of experiment had gone poorly behind the barrier. But once again Scarlett had to remind herself that she wasn't playing a horror survival video game and the chance of zombies coming after her were slim to none. That sort of thing didn't happen in reality.

Or at least Scarlett hoped it wouldn't happen. She definitely did not have enough bullets to deal with zombies. Finding a gap in the wooden fence, Scarlett decided it was as good a place as any to try and get through. The chain fence looked fragile and easy to bypass, the wooden one had been what she'd been concerned about.

Setting down the bag she carried on her back, Scarlett pulled out a black leather glove with metallic pieces built onto the back like a gauntlet. Within the metallic pieces was a perpetual motion energy generator that Scarlett had developed, inspired by the works of Tesla. When triggered by particular motions of her hand she could create a strong electrical charge that could be used to short out wiring or knock out her opponent. She'd built it after having gotten into some trouble in the London Underground when she'd first left Tony. Now was as good a time as any to put it to good use. If she ran into any zombies, maybe she could electrocute them.

Afterward she slipped a hunting knife out of the sheath she kept in the side of her boot to hopefully cut through the rusted metal. Scarlett tested the strength of the chain fence and as she suspected it was severely weakened. Parts of the metal turned to dust when in contact with the blade of her knife.

An easy few slices later, Scarlett had the fence pried open wide enough for her to crawl through. Past the barrier, Scarlett stayed close and in the shadows while she observed what remained of the town. The tops of the buildings she had seen hadn't looked damaged or destroyed from behind the fence but from inside of it the town looked like a war zone. Parts of the buildings were completely eaten away and destroyed while others were collapsed and caved in. Scarlett had been to battlefields before and the wreckage _never_ looked like this.

Something had destroyed the buildings, something Scarlett was unfamiliar with. Scanning the area with her phone, Scarlett decided not to take it out again unless absolutely necessary once she'd put it away. The eerie feeling she'd gotten when approaching the fence was renewed as she crept further along and toward one of the nearest buildings. Any defining marks on the side of it to let her know what may have once been within its confines had been scratched away and scorched afterward.

Turning in place, Scarlett grimaced as she observed the other buildings around her. Each one had the same telltale markings. The signs or numbers above the doors or next to the windows had been scratched away and then burnt. Whatever had happened to this place had been sudden and violent but the scorches and scratches had taken time and precision. Someone had returned to this place after it had been devastated and had gone through it.

The town had been sterilized.

It was the best word Scarlett could think up for what she was finding. Thinking back to the site in South Africa, she realized the circumstances weren't quite the same. Yes, the laboratories and other rooms had been obviously gone through and important things had been removed but this was something completely different.

Walking past the first building, Scarlett continued through the town and off of the main stretch. Though seemingly abandoned, she had the distinct feeling that it was important for her to stay hidden. Maybe whoever had been responsible for the town's sterilization had also been charged with keeping a look out. Either way, Scarlett had the sense that she wasn't alone in the town and that was enough for her to stay on her guard.

Stopping after heading through an alleyway between buildings of similar design and structure, Scarlett decided it was as good a place as any to start searching for some answers. Ducking through a half collapsed doorway, Scarlett looked around the interior of the building closest to her. It was a large open room that branched off to the left into smaller cubicle looking rooms. She guessed it had once been an office. Walking over to where she imagined desks had once been, she slipped her flashlight out of her pocket and waved it around the room in search of anything that remained.

She found nothing there waiting for her. The rooms were devoid of furniture. Even the carpet had been pulled up. The windows had been shattered and the air vents had been cleaned out. Whoever had come back after the destruction of this town to rid it of any clues to what had happened there had done a damn efficient job. But what could've been so important in the middle of Senegal that MedCo would send extermination teams and sanitation squads? Scarlett's mission was starting to look more and more militant as the pages unfolded before her.

Finding nothing of worth in the offices, Scarlett left hurriedly and crept out of the building and walked toward the next one of similar design. She'd sweep the buildings throughout the abandoned town and if she found anything of worth she'd consider herself lucky. Still the feeling of being watched was eating away at her stomach and she couldn't ignore it. Silently she crept into the next building, this time climbing through a shattered and half boarded up window since the door was fixed shut. When she tried to open it, it creaked far too loudly for her liking.

It still appeared that there was no one else in the nearby vicinity but she wasn't willing to take the risk that someone would hear and cause her trouble. Considering how she'd spent the first half of her day, Scarlett wasn't ready to take on anyone who might cause her harm. Things would get messy quickly if she were discovered, she knew it.

The second building was far more interesting. Half the wall on the other side was completely destroyed; appearing as though it had been knocked down in a colossal struggle. There were claw marks and bullet holes on the walls. Scarlett took pictures of the claw marks with her hand next to them for size reference and then continued in her search. While she'd vowed not to take anymore pictures with her phone, the claw marks were too peculiar not to document. It appeared that the building had once served as a laboratory of some kind. The furniture hadn't been completely removed as it had been in the last building.

There were overturned tables, half corroded by some unknown substance. Scarlett had a feeling that she'd dealt with the chemical agent responsible for the damage before and rubbed her leg nonchalantly. Ever since she'd had that reaction to the denim while working with Tony in his lab she'd been paranoid about wearing pants. The scar of the wound she'd sustained in the chemical explosion stung and itch while she wore them but she was guessing it was a psychosomatic response related to her anxiety.

The squeaking of brakes somewhere outside the window startled her. Having been kneeling down and looking at a peculiar burn mark on the floor, Scarlett was hoping she'd found a clue, but now she _knew_ she wasn't alone. Hurrying to the window she'd crawled through, Scarlett flipped off her flashlight and pulled out her gun instead. Making sure the silencer was properly screwed into place she peered out the window to try and see who had come to the site.

She could see bright headlights shining on the other side of the fence. Someone was scolding someone else for, most likely, keeping the lights on when they were trying to be covert. Scarlett crawled out the window, not wanting to be caught like the proverbial fish in a barrel and crept through the abandoned town. While she knew in her gut that she should high tail it out of the area before she was spotted, she was also curious to see what the intruders wanted if not her.

Creeping through the alleyway and back toward the main stretch of road, Scarlett crossed hurriedly and listened while someone unlocked the chains that held the gate closed on the outside. Whoever was coming in was granted access to the area. Were they there for her? If they were, she was sure they would've acted with more stealth. Unless of course, they didn't care who heard them.

Scarlett leaned against the wall two buildings away from the entranceway and listened as it creaked open. By the amount of footsteps she heard, she could guess that there were maybe five men walking slowly together. They were mumbling beneath their breath to each other in hopes of not being overheard. It was then that Scarlett realized they _were_ there for her and probably no other reason. What else would they have to do there? Short of demolishing the town, there was nothing left of interest except for her.

Once again she was a step _behind_ MedCo. They'd expected her to show up there and had likely set someone nearby the perimeter or in Dakar to keep an eye out for her. When she actually showed up they had sent people to come and take her away. Deciding the longer she stuck around the more trouble she'd be in, Scarlett crept in between the buildings but stopped when she heard one of the men shout. They'd noticed something in her direction and were heading to try and block her off.

Glancing around for a quick exit, Scarlett spotted the same half destroyed laboratory that she'd hidden in earlier. With the wall half crumbled she could climb up onto the roof and make it a few buildings across to at least put some distance between her and the men pursuing her. Not ceasing her efforts to be quiet, since she wasn't sure _what_ the men actually heard or seen that turned them onto her and not wanting to give them any further clues, she holstered her gun then started to climb the rubble onto the roof.

It was a risk to think that the ruined roof would hold her weight but she figured if she stayed on the edge near the supports she would be alright. And if not then it had been worth a shot. Thankfully the roof held her weight and Scarlett crept across with ease, hunched low. She leapt effortlessly across the buildings until she was at the opposite end of the small ruined town. From what she could tell, the men pursuing her were still on the other end of it. If Scarlett could find a way through the fence on this side then she'd be home free.

That was unless there were guards around the perimeter _too_. In that case, she'd be screwed. But she had to remind herself that she'd deal with that problem when she came to it. The adrenaline coursing through her helped fend off the earlier sickness that had left her crippled and in bed for hours. It was amazing the things the human body could ignore under the right circumstances. Finding her way down the side of the building easily, Scarlett landed as silently as she could in the dirt near the back window. Turning the corner to make sure that she wasn't followed, Scarlett sighed with relief when there wasn't a soul in sight.

When she ducked back behind the wall she nearly shrieked in surprise to turn around and find Tony standing there but thankfully covered her mouth and managed to stifle any sound she might have mad. He grabbed her arm and pulled her close, looking at her with determination in his honey brown eyes.

"You're not safe here, Scarlett. The radiation levels in this place are off the map." Tony whispered urgently starting to tug her aside.

"Oh my _god_, Tony, you couldn't have worse timing if you tried." Scarlett whispered and then covered his mouth to keep him from vocally objecting. Glancing around the corner again to make sure that no one heard them talking she pushed him closer to the wall and narrowed her eyes at him. "You have got to stop following me around like this. You can't sneak up on me! You used to compare me to James Bond… do you remember what happened to the people who snuck up on James Bond? You're going to get us _both_ killed."

"I'm trying to _protect_ you. I did some scans overhead with Jarvis when I found where you disappeared to. This place was victim to some kind of nasty chemical spill. You can't be here!" It took all of Tony's willpower to keep him from making a perverse comment in regards to how she'd pushed him so roughly against the wall but he pushed it to the back of his mind for later.

"I can't be here? _Really?_" Scarlett glanced over her shoulder again to see if the men were listening to them or coming after them now that she was no longer silent.

"Why do you keep looking over your shoulder like that?" Tony grabbed at her again, pulling her back away from the corner of the building and into his arms.

"Would you stop tugging on me?" Scarlett wiggled her shoulder away from his grasp only to find him grabbing her again. "There are men here after me and you are causing quite the commotion."

"You didn't tell me to stop tugging on you the other…Wait, what?" Tony was now the one peeking around the corner of the building to see if he'd drawn attention to them.

"I was on my way _out _of here _safely_ when you snuck up behind me!" Scarlett hissed in annoyance. It wasn't that she was exactly _annoyed_ as she was absolutely terrified that something was going to happen to Tony. He wasn't in his armor or anything similar and it didn't look like he'd bothered to bring anything to protect himself with. And why would he? He'd likely figured he was only going to deal with _her_ and not a group of armed men hunting her.

But then again, this was exactly why she wasn't completely open to Tony helping her hunt down MedCo. He didn't know the kind of people she was dealing with. To him, this was a voyage to chase after what his heart wanted. Scarlett was fighting to get her life back and Tony was fighting to get _her_ back. They weren't on the same _page_ and this particular incident was making that perfectly clear.

"We've got to get out of here." Tony whispered, far more serious than he was only a moment ago. He'd spent most of his time traveling to her location thinking of different puns and references he could make regarding her having left him in Senegal when things became too much for her in the abandoned MedCo facility. Now he couldn't use any of them because he was unarmed and not prepared for the danger that had found them.

"Didn't I _just_ say that?" Scarlett looked perplexed but grabbed his wrist and started to pull him toward the fence.

"What are they doing here?"

"What do you _think_ they're doing here?" Scarlett shot back at him.

"No need to be nasty, Scarlett." Tony pouted but kept watch over his shoulder as they searched the fence for a way out.

"How the hell did you get in here?" Scarlett stood upright and turned to face him.

"There's a broken latch on one of the side doors." Tony nodded, snapping his fingers in recollection.

"Sometimes I forget you're a genius."

"I can't tell if that was an insult or a compliment." Tony furrowed his brow in consideration.

"I'll leave you to figure that out." Scarlett started around another building but pulled back when she saw shadows moving out of the corner of her eye, leaning against the nearby half destroyed wall. Scarlett tried to think and quickly. There was no way from where they were to get back onto the roof and now with Tony by her side, and surely far more heavy footed than she was, it was no longer a plausible exit either. "Look, I'm not mad at you for coming after me but you can't stay." Tony looked confused.

He understood that she wanted him to keep out of her business and to fight her battles alone, but did she really expect him to leave her there by herself? "I'm armed and can cover you so you can get out. Go somewhere safe and… after I'm safe you can find me. I know you will. You always find me." Scarlett urged him behind her with a small smile, but Tony grabbed her wrist.

"I can protect myself." Tony whispered, pulling her close with him. "You're leaving _with_ me."

"I _am_ leaving with you but I have a gun and you don't." Scarlett hushed him. Before Tony could object further someone shouted at them to stay still from afar. "Go! Please, Tony…"

"Hold on, I have an idea." Tony grabbed Scarlett and pushed her against the wall.

"What are you doing?"

"I saw it in a movie once." Tony pressed his lips to hers in a kiss, leaning his body close against hers. Scarlett couldn't say she hadn't missed his lips. When they were in the room together, even if it was crowded full of people sometimes she found that they were the only thing she could think about but at the current moment they didn't exactly have time for a heated make out session. Nevertheless, kissing him felt like lightning, just as it always had.

"Hands in the air!" The same man who had yelled at them shouted again, aiming his weapon at them. Tony and Scarlett couldn't see what type of weapon it was through the beam of the flashlight he was pointing toward them.

"Oh, hey… there…" Tony tried to look surprised as he pulled away from Scarlett's lips, holding his hand up to obscure her face from view. "Sorry, are we not supposed to be here?"

"Sir, back away from the woman." The man in the black suit held his weapon aimed at Tony, shining a flashlight in his eyes purposely.

"Guess that didn't work did it?" Tony glanced back at Scarlett.

"Obviously. Did you really think it would?" Scarlett slipped out of Tony's arms and held her hands in front of her to let the man in black know that she wasn't holding anything. "Look, I don't want any trouble."

"Down on the ground!" The armed man in black took a step backward, immediately getting defensive.

"Hey, only I get to ask her that." Tony objected. Scarlett stifled a laugh. As inappropriate as the timing was, the joke was still pretty funny.

"I _said_ down on the ground!"

"I guess that means we're going to have to do this the hard way." Scarlett sighed heavily, coughing and clearing her throat. She'd protect Tony with her life if she had to, but she was hoping with any luck that maybe she could get them both out of the nasty situation in one piece.


	6. Teamwork

_[[Sorry for the late upload, I've had a really stressful week and I'm very unmotivated to work on anything. Still struggling to keep going but I'm thinking Scarlett's intentions are being misinterpreted. Just hang in there, okay? She's not a bloodthirsty woman seeking vengeance. Conflict is what makes this fun, no? Also, Merry Christmas all.]]_

Tony was starting to wonder if he was going to have to start bringing his suit with him wherever he went as he and Scarlett faced down the armed man who insisted upon annoyingly shining his flashlight in their eyes. Doing so would be terribly cumbersome and incredibly difficult, considering the weight he'd have to carry around on his person at all times. Even though he _knew _that Scarlett found the suit sexy, though she didn't rightly admit it, wearing the suit was often unnecessary and brought on attention that they just didn't need in most situations. As much as Tony loved being recognized by the press, sometimes his recognizable face and persona brought him nothing but trouble. Just as he was about to ask Scarlett what they should do, since he couldn't foresee an easy way out of the sticky situation they'd found themselves in, she spoke and interrupted his train of thought.

"I guess you guys finally caught me." Scarlett shrugged her shoulders, but flipped a small switch on the side of her glove with her thumb to ready the charge built up in the device. A high-pitched mechanical squeal filled the air, unnoticed by those not listening for it. Scarlett braced herself for what she knew was going to come once she sprang into action. "It only took you guys, what, two months to actually back me into a corner? And even then, this isn't a very tight corner." The armed man didn't respond as he drew closer to the couple, gun aimed toward Scarlett threateningly and flashlight held still shining in her face. When he moved close enough Scarlett held up her hands defensively so that he would be able to cuff them with ease. When he reached to do so, she lunged at him, grabbing at the wrist that held his weapon.

When he didn't relent as most people did when grabbed very suddenly, Scarlett swung at his other hand that held the flashlight, just as he was bringing it down toward her to strike her. The momentum forced the flashlight out of his hands, into the air where it slammed into the bridge of his nose, breaking it and causing it to bleed excessively. Yelling in pain Scarlett was impressed when the armed man didn't release his grip on the gun to hold his wounded nose and instead aimed his weapon at Scarlett once again. Tony watched with wide eyes in awe at the sudden fight that had broken out right in front of him. Bolting quickly out of the range of the weapon, Scarlett renewed her grip on the hand that held his gun and twisted as hard as she could manage.

A gunshot echoed through the once unusually quiet desert, alerting their attacker's colleagues that he was in trouble, but thankfully the shot missed Scarlett and Tony leaving them unscathed. Tony couldn't say the same for his nerves. Grabbing onto the hot barrel of the gun, Scarlett put enough force on the weapon to jam it hard into the man's hand forcing his elbow to buckle and to reflexively let the weapon go. Flipping it around in her hand so she was properly holding the barrel Scarlett then swung the gun hard against the side of the security agent's head.

Stumbling from the force of the impact and taking a few steps backwards the man caught his balance at the last moment. The beam of the flashlight lit up the wall behind them as it rolled to a stop in front of Tony after being kicked in the scuffle. Sounds of his comrades calling out for their aggressor echoed throughout the abandoned town. The calls were frequent but were still far enough away that Scarlett didn't feel the need to immediately take flight. They were likely being cautious and checking every doorway and alcove instead of running straight toward the gunfire and sounds of struggle. MedCo security agents seemed to be getting more sophisticated as time continued on.

When she got close enough to him, the man in black threw a sloppy punch. Scarlett quickly dodged the blow, caught the man's wrist as he missed and spun him around behind her, hoping to get him to lose his balance. Instead the man used the momentum to keep running and nearly knocked Scarlett off of her feet. Seizing his opportunity, Tony stepped up to the security agent before he could turn around to pursue Scarlett and punched him square in the jaw.

Scarlett stumbled in place, dizzy. Her equilibrium was still off from her earlier bout of illness. Placing her hand against the wall nearest her, she blinked away the darkness at the corner of her vision in hopes that she could steady herself and shake it off. The adrenaline that had assisted her through the majority of her evening in the ruined town was finally wearing off and leaving her prey to the sickness she'd battled earlier in the day. With any luck, she could get the adrenaline to stick around for a bit longer thanks to the danger they now encountered.

Glancing back to where Tony stood, she saw the two men throwing punches and dodging each other skillfully. She didn't have time to admire the fact that Tony actually _could_ protect himself outside of the Iron Man armor, even though she would've loved to, because the man he was fighting was reaching for something in his pocket. Tony's back was to her, he had turned around during the fistfight in order to protect her while she collected her composure. Unable to tell what the man had pulled out from his pocket but guessing it was a blade of some kind, Scarlett stepped away from the wall she was using to steady herself with and ignored the dizziness she was battling.

"Tony, duck!" Thankfully the stubborn genius listened to her instead of arguing like he was prone to doing and hunched forward as far as he could, shielding his head as if he knew what she was about to do. Running toward Tony, Scarlett used his back as a step up and jumped onto the shoulders of the man running at him who hadn't expected an attack from above. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she used the momentum of her jump to spin onto his back and then force him to the ground stomach first. Skidding in the dirt, Scarlett kept her knees on the man's back and reached in an attempt to disarm him of the small metallic object that was blinking green from a series of lights along the side.

Flailing wildly to try and get a grip on her, the man decided instead to use force to shove her off of his back. Then he grabbed her foot and flipped her onto her back, but before he knew it she had her legs wrapped around his middle and her arms around his neck, hoping to force him into unconsciousness, her hand against his throat to block his airways.

It turned out that the shining silver object the security agent had pulled out of his pocket _hadn't_ been a knife and as it met Scarlett's side it sent a shock through her system which caused her to loosen her grip on him automatically. The current ran through her body, leaving her fingers tingling. But having experienced that sensation multiple times in the months passed, since electrocution seemed to be one of MedCo's _favorite_ tricks, Scarlett had learned how to manage the paralysis that usually followed.

"Nice try, you guys should get some new tricks." Scarlett grabbed onto the man tighter with her legs to keep him in place as he tried to escape her grip and gain the upper hand. Then she placed her gloved hand onto his face and triggered the Tesla device she'd built. It sent a shock through the man's body that made him twitch and eventually pass out the longer that she held on. Considering it had been cruel to use it on his face, Scarlett justified what she'd done by thinking that he'd been the one to start the fight. Checking his pulse to make sure the man wasn't faking unconsciousness, as she had discovered security agents from MedCo often did, Scarlett shoved him aside and took Tony's hand as he offered to help her up.

"Well that looked uncomfortable." Tony dusted off her jacket to the best of his ability but then pouted as she swatted his hands away from her.

"You've got to run. You're unarmed. I can handle this on my own." Scarlett assured him. She wasn't telling him to run this time just so he'd stay out of her business, but simply to keep him safe. It wasn't that she didn't want his help or to come off as hostile, but she was scared and panicking about his safety.

"No way, babe. In about five minutes, give or take, I'll be protecting _you_." Tony walked over to the man she'd knocked unconscious and retrieved the strange looking silver object that had delivered an electronic jolt to Scarlett. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen before so he pocketed it for further investigation.

"And _what_ exactly is happening in five minutes that's going to make you better than me?" Scarlett chuckled under her breath, dragging the body of the unconscious man so he was leaning against the wall.

"Look." Tony pulled her away from her task and showed her the metallic bracelets on his wrists.

"Fancy jewelry you got there, Tony. I always figured you for more of an expensive watch kind of guy." Scarlett teased playfully in attempts to ease her own tension rather than Tony's.

"I didn't get to show you before you left Malibu, but these bracelets send a signal to my new stealth armor that allows it to locate me and assemble so I don't have to carry it around. As you can imagine, it's kind of hard to travel with the full suit of armor. The Mark V was a good fix for awhile but I had to skimp on the tech to keep it at a lower weight. Plus, I wasn't about to bring Happy with me to guard it while following you around." Tony knew it would take a few minutes for the armor to arrive considering he'd only summoned it after he was sure Scarlett was alright and he'd left the suit locked up in his jet at the airport.

"Wait, so these will summon which suit if not the Mark V?" Scarlett pulled his right hand up and examined the bracelet, suddenly intrigued by the simple bracelets that were likely sending a scan of everything from Tony's vitals to the exact places the parts of the suit would need to assemble in order to find its owner no matter his movements. "That's pretty impressive…" Tony couldn't hide the pleased look on his face.

"The Mark VII Stealth."

"The last time I saw you it was only VI." Scarlett scoffed. "And that wasn't exactly convenient to pack up and carry around if I remember us trying to get it off of you."

"Well, you nearly destroyed my Mark V. I'm still doing repairs on that thing after the charity event." Tony countered.

"I didn't _do_ anything to it, those drones did if you recall."

"You built them!"

"I _designed_ them. You're getting it all wrong." Scarlett didn't look away from the bracelet she was examining but held up a finger in objection toward Tony. "You're getting off track again, how do you get _anything_ accomplished?"

"That's your fault too. You're very distracting."

"_I'm_ distracting? Seriously?" Scarlett laughed, letting his hand drop from her grip.

"Anyway, this isn't _exactly_ the Mark VII… It's the Mark VII Stealth. There's a pretty significant difference."

"I'm guessing that this is a lower key version of your suit... one that's not the colors of a hot rod." Scarlett nodded and then glanced around, waiting for the cavalry to arrive. Every second that passed felt longer than it actually was in tense situations. Stifling a cough against her sleeve, Scarlett searched for somewhere to hide.

"Yes, with some added enhancements designed for keeping a lower profile. I can't always be flashy, you know."

"I'm so proud, I wasn't sure you were capable of keeping a low profile."

"I've learned quite a bit from following you around." Tony patted her backside and Scarlett jumped in surprise. "So, what is this… fancy little machine you've got here on your wrist?"

"We really shouldn't be sitting around chatting when those men are out there looking for me. You _need_ to get out of here, Tony. I don't care if your suit is coming to aid you. If we can get out of here then there won't be _need_ for any further confrontation."

"We're in the middle of the desert, Scarlett. If we don't confront these guys then they're going to tail us back to Dakar." Tony spoke knowingly. Scarlett stopped and looked at him seriously. Had Tony suggested a battle tactic that had been thought through in its entirety? Every strategy he'd ever suggested to her or told her he'd been a part of in the past had been very Tony-centric meaning that he'd only thought about what was going to happen to _him_ in each situation.

Of course, part of Tony's brilliance was that he was always looking for a way out and a way to fix his mess, but at the same time it meant that he was often blind to those around him and the struggles they would face in light of his actions.

While Scarlett had known that she would have to lose the men on her tail before she could get any rest for the night, she was hoping that Tony would've blindly hurried away from the area so that she wouldn't have to worry about him getting hurt on her account. She had been planning on tricking him into safety but instead she was surprised as hell by the things he'd been learning from spending time with her.

"I think that might have been the _sexiest_ thing you have ever said to me." Scarlett scoffed and shook her head in disbelief.

"Oh, talking battle strategy gets you all hot and bothered, does it? Sorry Scarlett, but we don't have that kind of time right now… I need more than the few minutes we have." Tony tugged her close and made kissy lips at her. Scarlett placed her hand over his lips and Tony grabbed the glove on her hand. "What is this thing anyway?" He tilted his head to the side to escape her hand covering his mouth.

"When I first got to London I ran into some trouble in the underground and found myself at odds with weapons that were just far more sophisticated than my trusty 9mm. So, as soon as I got out of there I gathered some supplies and built an extra defense system. It's rudimentary but self propelled so it draws energy from my motions and can deliver a pretty substantial electrical charge. I'm working on enhancing it to perform other tasks as well. My next goal is to make a non-lethal projectile weapon. I've always wanted some really cool gadgets like you see in those Bond films you so compare me to so I built this for myself. And actually… believe it or not, I was inspired by living with you for that short amount of time and the cool as hell little gadgets you have lying around. I'm just as capable of creating those things as you are, so why don't I have some cool tech? I figured I was overdue."

"I'm flattered, truly." Tony glanced around in the distance for any sign of his suit but couldn't see it or hear it nearby. Then again only a handful of minutes had transpired since he'd summoned it. It was going to take longer than he'd estimated given how far away they were from Dakar.

Yelling somewhere behind them where the first fight against the security officer had transpired distracted them. Scarlett flexed the fingers of her glove and readied herself for the next opponent while standing defensively in front of Tony.

"Stay behind me. I'll keep you safe." She instructed. Before Tony could object or agree, more shouting came from behind them and then shots rang out in the darkness and whistled by, barely missing them both. The second security agent had fired warning shots in hopes of keeping them still. Cursing, Scarlett looked for a safe haven and found the nearest building intact that they could hide in. Quickly pulling out her 9mm, she shot at the ground in front of both men to kick up some dust and put them on their guard so she would have a few seconds to get them somewhere safe.

The door closest to them was blocked off but Scarlett knew they didn't have time to find another way in. Turning once again to her silenced gun, she aimed for the hinges on the door and shot through it so it would be easily knocked in. Then using Tony's hand to steady herself she kicked the door in, ignoring how Tony's eyebrows shot to the top of his forehead in surprise.

"Get in!" Scarlett grabbed Tony's wrist and tugged him roughly forward and through the doorway, then went to close the door so she could deal with the armed men.

"Not without you." Tony grabbed her wrist as she let go of his and tugged her in after him. As she attempted to catch her balance, since he'd noticed how poorly her equilibrium was reacting to being tossed about, Tony grabbed the door she'd broken in and shoved it back into place so she wouldn't have to. Then he searched around and found some discarded boards, chairs and other debris and managed to prop them up behind the door to buy them some time against those who hunted them.

"Where the hell is the fancy armor you promised?" Scarlett sat trying to catch her breath. It came second nature for her to protect herself but the frailty from the sickness she'd experienced earlier in the day was catching up with her, plus she wasn't used to protecting someone like Tony. It was mostly annoying rather than hindering but she knew that the additional physical exertion wouldn't do her health any favors.

"It's locked up in the jet in Dakar so it might take a little while to get here. It's not like it's right around the corner. It's got procedures to follow so it doesn't just fly into random buildings and random people. It's a pretty complex piece of machinery." Tony waved his hand nonchalantly and made a face of superior knowledge.

"Well, keep low while I search for another way out of here that's going to keep you from becoming a big perverted target." Scarlett crept past him once she was sure the doorway was secure and then started to search through the building that looked like it had once been a shop of some kind, the floor covered with debris of various items that led her to believe it was once a hardware store. While she was certain there was no other way out of the building she was hoping that she would get lucky and find something that had been overlooked.

Tony kept low to the ground as Scarlett had requested him to and searched through the debris. He glanced over at Scarlett who had snuck into the other room, presumably to look for exits and was glad that he could be there to see her in action. After he'd met with her in South Africa the night before he'd been worried that she wasn't up to snub. Now he could see that even though she clearly wasn't feeling well, she could still handle herself well enough to stay out of trouble. The Tesla inspired glove on her wrist reminded him much of the repulsor glove he'd first built for his Mark II and he knew that as she went over it she'd enhance it just as much as he had done with time. Sometimes Tony forgot just how brilliant Scarlett was.

But for now, Tony had some ideas on what he could do with the device that he'd taken from the man who had attacked them in the back alley. Slipping it out of his pocket, he started to pull it apart using pieces of debris that he found scattered about the shop to enhance upon the spectacular small device, but stopped short when he heard a crash nearby. Immediately getting to his feet he went to search for Scarlett. Before he could find her, Scarlett was thrown from the other room through the doorway.

One of the men pursuing them had found a half broken window and had come through it and after Scarlett. He had tackled her to the ground but the force of his tackle had sent them apart and Scarlett slid away from him then used that momentum to flip back up onto her feet. Tony could see the dizziness pass through her eyes but was surprised how she handled it with ease.

Trusting Scarlett could deal with the man on her own after watching her in action Tony continued to pull the device apart and to rewire it along with a few additions of pieces of debris that he'd picked up on the ground. Luckily, whatever store they'd hidden in had quite a bit of extra wiring lying around to use to his advantage. Scarlett had inspired him, there was no reason she shouldn't have just as many cool gadgets as he had.

The door that they'd blocked in earlier came crashing in as a second man came to provide backup for his comrade. Tony moved quicker, seeing the need for assistance sooner rather than later but was forced to stop when one of the men crashed next to him on their back. Scarlett had apparently sent him flying there in some manner or another. Realizing he couldn't continue on with the piece he was building while there was so much chaos around him, Tony placed it on the window sill so he wouldn't lose it and it wouldn't get knocked around or crushed as easily and figured he would wait until his Iron Man suit got there. The device he was building needed to be soldered before use anyway and he wouldn't be able to do that until the Mark VII Stealth arrived.

Tony turned his attention to keeping the man on the ground nearby subdued while Scarlett handled the second intruder. She held her arms in front of her defensively and blocked punches and dodged them as often as she could manage. After landing a jab straight to the man's jaw that sent him doubling over, Scarlett shook out her hand and then worked to replace the debris in front of the door in hopes of slowing down the rest of the team that had come to search the area.

"How many of them are there? Do you know?" Tony got to his feet, hearing the sounds of something on the roof overhead along with some shuffling noises on the other side of the wall. "Any ideas?"

"There were five that left the truck in pursuit of me, but that doesn't mean that there aren't more men waiting in the truck to call for backup if necessary." Scarlett continued to replace the debris to block the door once she realized that Tony had her back. He punched the man in the stomach, dodged a punch to the face, and then landed a punch to the jaw. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the man who he had pinned on the ground managing to finally get back to his feet start making his way toward Scarlett who was seemingly unaware. Tony kicked the man he was fighting hard in the stomach, exhilarated by the physical activity he didn't usually get to be a part of then ran toward Scarlett, grabbed her gloved hand, pulled her into his arms and out of the way of the man who was jumping at her causing him to stumble forward.

Tony took the advantage and elbowed the man between the shoulder blades, knocking him to the ground. Scarlett turned and caught the second security agent who Tony had been earlier fighting and dropped to the ground where she kicked the feet out from underneath him causing him to fall on his back. He was holding his gun in his hand so Scarlett immediately threw herself at him and slammed her fist against his wrist so that his grip would falter on the gun and he wouldn't be able to pull the trigger. Shocking him with her Tesla glove, Scarlett knew the charge wasn't yet strong enough to knock her assailant out but would provide her with a brief moment to gain the advantage. Getting back to her feet, the agent's gun in hand, Scarlett dismantled it, pocketed the clip and then pulled apart the firing pin so it would no longer function.

Someone grabbed her arm and Scarlett moved to swing around to attack until she realized who she was going for was, in fact, Tony and then just smacked at his shoulder in annoyance. He grabbed her and pulled her close for a kiss, resting his hand on the side of her face. The adrenaline was making him excited in more ways than he could have imagined. Being Iron Man was a different sort of exciting while fighting back to back with Scarlett provided a completely new thrill.

"We make a pretty good team." Tony smirked playfully.

"You're better at hand to hand to combat than I expected you to be, that I'll admit." Scarlett smirked in response but then pulled Tony out of the way so that she could kick another one of the small silver shocking devices out of the hands of the man who Tony had been fighting. Tony pulled back and shoved the security agent hard into the wall, kneeing him in the stomach.

"I'd like to show you what else I can do with my hands…"

"Maybe later," Scarlett grunted as she was shoved against the half boarded up window by the man she was fighting. "I'm sort of busy right now." She then grabbed the frame of the window over her head, kicked the man away and pulled herself up so she could place her feet on the sill. Before she could finish and knock out the agent there was a beeping from where Tony stood.

He immediately backed away from the others and moved into the center of the room and winced, knowing what was about to transpire. Crashing through the wall, a black and silver object started to unfold in a flurry of mechanical whirs. Scarlett and the two men watched in stunned amazement as the peculiarly shaped case unfolded and engulfed Tony piece by piece. Red lasers flashed from the armor and scanned over his person to verify they were latching correctly around their owner until the entire machine was completely put together and his helmet was locking into place. The haunting blue glow behind the eyes of the Iron Man helmet was the last thing to come to life, filling the room with a soft hum.

"Okay, so next time you want to get laid you should just do that." Scarlett shook her head and stood awe struck by the way that Tony's advanced technology worked so seamlessly. It seemed silly given how much she knew about the machine, but she was still taken with how damn _cool_ the armor looked.

Scarlett yelped in surprise when one of the security agents tackled her from behind and knocked her face down onto the ground. Cursing her momentary distraction, Scarlett felt cold steel against her wrists as the agent tried to cuff her. Unwilling to let him do so, she twisted her right wrist free and smashed the back of her head into the man's face. He cursed and yelled in misery so she guessed that she had bashed his nose. Rolling over onto her back and throwing the man off of her in the process, Scarlett groaned in annoyance when the second agent came to help pin her down so she could be used for leverage against Iron Man.

Making a fist, Scarlett urged the heel of her palm into the jaw of the second man, resulting in a horrific popping sound and the man howling in misery. Bracing herself for the electric jolt that was to come as the first man pulled out the small silver electronic device that had shocked her earlier, Scarlett was surprised when she heard the familiar high pitched whir of the repulsors charging behind her and no such shock was ever felt.

Blasts of blue light shot overhead and into the man who was about to electrocute her and sent him crashing into the wall. Scarlett immediately sat up and watched as Tony, now inside of the Mark VII Stealth armor, picked up the security agent whose jaw Scarlett had dislocated and threw him out the window.

Shuffling hurriedly to her feet, Scarlett winced feeling an annoying stinging on her arm and saw a scrape from falling to the floor. Dusting herself off she tried to fix the tear in her jacket and sighed before checking to make sure the man outside the window had been knocked out. She was relieved to find out that he was.

"You're welcome." Tony triggered the microphone that would allow him to speak through the heavy metallic suit, walking toward her. Scarlett shivered at the familiar and comforting sounds the Iron Man armor made. They had become something that made her excited and happy over the past two months, but she refused to admit it, at least in their current situation.

"I didn't thank you. The only reason I was in that situation in the first place was because someone had to come in with their shiny armor and do all sorts of cool shit with it… You distracted me, giving them the opportunity to knock me on my ass!" Scarlett refrained from smiling, even though it was playing on her lips quite obviously.

"How is it _my_ fault that you're a huge tech geek?" Tony laughed, scanning the room and allowing Jarvis to warm the systems up in the Mark VII. It'd been awhile since he'd had the need to use the armor and it felt foreign being inside it with the new stealth features he'd built in. There hadn't been many recent occasions for him to use the stealth armor so it was taking some getting used to.

"It is _so_ your fault. It's what happens when you go around flaunting all that tech porn in everyone's faces. You know better than to start this game if you don't have time to seal the deal." Scarlett checked around her to make sure she hadn't lost anything from her backpack and that the men hadn't dropped anything of use but both men, from what she could tell, were successfully knocked unconscious and lying uselessly to the side with nothing of interest near them.

"Oh, I'll have plenty of time to seal the deal later, don't you worry."

"You're lucky that suit makes me hot or I wouldn't think that was very funny."

"You think I'm charming." Tony teased.

"I think that you need to scan the perimeter and find out how many of these people we have left to fight or if we need to bail because we're outnumbered. And don't say that we can't be with your Iron Man get up because even _that_ has limitations." Scarlett leaned against the wall and relaxed. With Tony in his Iron Man armor, they were very likely to get out of the town scot free, even if it meant she didn't get _anything_ she'd been searching for. MedCo was controlling the game and Scarlett was just about done playing.

"In a second," Tony whined, doing his very best impression of an impatient child who didn't want to do what they were told.

"What could _possibly_ be more important right now?" Scarlett watched him curiously as the Mark VII marched surprisingly quietly across the room to the window sill where something small and peculiar had been lying. Holding it in one metallic hand, Tony used the other gauntlet of the suit to fire a laser at the device he'd been building to attach to her Tesla glove, soldering the metal together so it wouldn't come apart.

Walking back over to Scarlett, Tony knelt down in the suit dramatically, took her gloved right hand and then attached the device he'd built onto the weapon until he was sure it clicked into place, much like a mock engagement. There was a soft hum emitting from it, confirming that it was at least receiving power.

"I modified it from that little silver thing they've got on them. It's got a lot of juice in it, more than necessary for a stun gun, so I altered it. When completely charged it'll fire a beam of energy much like the repulsors built into my armor. It's cumbersome and needs some proper looking at in a safer situation with some proper materials it's a start. Only problem is that it's going to drain your energy source much faster than that small shock you were using beforehand." Tony got up from his knee and waited for her reaction.

"Oh, you shouldn't have." Scarlett batted her eyelashes playfully then examined the new mechanism on her arm, excited at the idea of having a long range weapon at her disposal outside of her gun. While she was examining it, Tony had Jarvis take a look at Scarlett's vitals. Her fever was just below 101. Jarvis made him aware of several other obvious weaknesses that differed from the last time he'd laid eyes on Miss Damien.

"It appears that adrenaline is allowing her to continue functioning as normal." The robot spoke, sounding disheartened. "But even adrenaline eventually wears off."

"I know that, Jarvis." Tony sighed heavily.

"Tony, if you don't get moving soon then we're going to be in far worse trouble than before. You're giving them time to call for backup." Scarlett walked away from him and peered through the crater in the wall.

"Oh yeah, right. I got all distracted… again." Tony shook the head of the armor. "Keep an eye on her, Jarvis. Off to the side in blue like we discussed, okay?" Guiding the suit into the air and through the crater it'd created when it had arrived, Tony flew above the town and scanned for heat signatures of any other men in pursuit of them.

"Looks like there are four more men outside of the three you've already incapacitated, sir." Jarvis lit up the screen with several small red dots, pushing them to the side and keeping an eye on them so they wouldn't be able to sneak up on him or Scarlett.

Scarlett watched the Mark VII take off and admired the way the machinery worked. It was far quieter than the last model she'd seen in action. Even the lights from the rocket boosters seemed subdued. Once again, she had to reflect on how fantastic a genius Tony Stark was to have built something so extraordinary. Reflection didn't last long seeing as one of the men who had been searching for a way to get to them through the building came leaping off of the roof where he'd been hiding. Immediately he pulled out the small metallic stun gun that had caused her such trouble. Scarlett twisted and turned out of the way, leaping backwards and stumbling three steps to avoid being hit by the end of it.

The second man came around the side of the building and Scarlett ducked as a shot rang out across the town.

"You idiot! We need her alive!" The man with the stun gun shouted back at the agent who had fired his weapon.

"She's still alive with a bullet wound!" The other shouted back. Scarlett wasn't fond of that way of thinking so she bolted and ran around the side of the building, making as many turns as she could in hopes of losing both of the men, but unfortunately could hear their footsteps trailing not far behind.

"Jarvis I need Scarlett's vitals, is she okay?" Tony asked after hearing the sound of the gun echo somewhere behind him.

"Yes sir, it seems she managed to avoid the blow." Jarvis spoke proudly. "However, there are two men on her tail."

"Can she handle it?"

"You would know better than I." Jarvis responded but sounded concerned.

"That's right, your little crush has blinded you."

"Isn't that a tad hypocritical coming from the man who has been wasting an enormous amount of jet fuel following her around Africa?"

"Touché." Tony found the truck that Scarlett had mentioned the men arrived in earlier just outside the open gate. As he was about to approach the truck in search of anything useful, a strong burst of electricity crashed into him and sent the Mark VII flying to the ground with such force that he crashed through the roof of one of the decrepit buildings, then the wall of the same building and finally came to a sliding halt in the dirt in the center of the town in a small crater of his own making. Immediately Tony moved the Mark VII to start getting back up. "Damage report, Jarvis. What the hell was that?"

"Minor scratches mostly, though left hand repulsor has failed to reboot. As for what it is, I've no idea. Some sort of electronic blast."

"No shit, Sherlock. Perform diagnostics on the repulsor and see if you can fix it."

"Already on it, sir." The Mark VII jolted as shots were fired and made crashing impact sounds against the metal. Only small dents were formed, considering how reinforced Tony had made the newer models. "Miss Damien is headed this way."

Sure enough Scarlett came running around the corner, pursued by two men and heading straight into the square. As long as they didn't shoot at _her_ he figured it would be alright. There had been a gunshot earlier, but Tony was guessing that it was out of reflex as it had been when she had been fighting with the man in the alley. They wanted to _take_ Scarlett not _kill_ her.

Scarlett had come running to see what the sound of the crash had been and to make sure Tony was okay. Irrational fear of him getting hurt in the line of fire had once again flashed through her mind, making her forego her safety for his. Rushing toward the armor despite the bullets that were flying toward it, Scarlett was relieved to see him standing and seemingly doing well. The left arm of the Mark VII fanned out and formed a shield to protect the rest of the suit from the spray of bullets.

"You can't be here! You're going to get hurt." Tony shouted through the external communication system but Scarlett wasn't listening. Turning toward the two men who were pursuing Tony from where the truck was located, Scarlett aimed and then fired the new weapon that Tony had built for her. A beam of sizzling white lightning came blasting out of the glove toward the two men with such force that Scarlett was thrown back ten feet. Both men she'd aimed at were knocked backwards and into unconsciousness by the blow.

Scarlett slid to a halt against a nearby wall, her head tapping against it. Uncomfortable shocks of electrical current made her hands twitch and her toes tingle. Not having expected such a negative response from using the little device Tony had built for her Scarlett sat dazed, leaning against the wall and trying to catch her breath while her body fought against the electric shock she'd received.

The remaining two men had been stunned by the display of weaponry but only momentarily. They were soon back in pursuit of Scarlett and trying to avoid the threatening Mark VII. Compartments in the shoulders opened at Tony's command, triggered smoke missiles that shot toward both men and crashed on the ground in front of them. Seconds after they went off, both men fell unconscious thanks to the drugs hidden within them. The stealth armor was designed to go unnoticed if possible, so it was armed with completely different sorts of weaponry than the regular armor was.

Once he was sure there were no more men coming for them, Tony immediately flew over to where Scarlett was now slowly making her way to her feet. She looked dizzy and stumbled but reached her hand to the wall and steadied herself with her eyes closed. When she heard the sounds of the Iron Man suit landing in front of her she glanced up at him and coughed when she found too much of a cling in her throat to talk.

"Are you alright?" Tony finally asked once he realized she was having a hard time saying anything.

"I think your math was a little off on this thing." Scarlett coughed again and then stood upright, shaking the disorientation that had followed the use of the weapon he'd built for her.

"My math is _never_ off." Tony scoffed, sounding insulted.

"I'm pretty sure judging by the fact that you almost _killed_ me with that thing, that your math was _very_ off."

"Want to bet?" Tony countered.

"I'll take that wager any day." Scarlett laughed, but ended up coughing. Tony flipped the helmet of his suit up, grabbed her by her shoulder and pulled her in for another kiss once her coughing fit had passed.

"You shouldn't, my math is never wrong." Picking up her gloved hand, Tony half expected Scarlett to pull away and stop him from taking a look but instead she allowed him to examine the glove on her hand that was still twitching from the powerful jolt she'd received.

Now that the men after her were taken care of, Scarlett could search the truck to see if there was anything of note. It was a relief to be done with the fighting as exhilarating as it had been to fight side by side with Tony. It came to her attention that the two had not gotten to do so beforehand. The only other time she'd fought with him it had been in peculiar scenarios. Fighting _with_ him was definitely far superior to any of their prior arrangements.

"Ah, there it is." Clicking his tongue in realization he pointed toward the mechanism he'd attached to her glove that he'd reopened. "I crossed my wires."

"So, I was right."

"No, this had nothing to do with my _math_." Tony began to pull the wires apart so he could put them in their correct places and fix the malfunctioning weapon. When his metallic hands proved to be too large to do so, Scarlett swatted him away which resulted in him pouting, not that she could see it.

"It was still _your_ screw up."

"Yes, admittedly in the heat of the moment I crossed some wires but my _math_ was still spot on." Tony pursed his lips and watched as Scarlett repaired the wires and put them back in their proper places. It was a temporary fix and would have to be looked at properly when they had more time, but for the moment it would function without nearly killing Scarlett.

"I'm still taking that as a win."

"No way, you owe me now. You lost." Reaching around, Tony slid his gloved hand further down her back and patted her butt. Scarlett stopped messing with the wires and looked at him skeptically.

"You can't even _feel_ my ass through those gloves, do you really need to keep grabbing it?"

"I blame Jarvis, entirely. He's sweet on you."

"Jarvis is a gentleman." Scarlett objected and then swatted at Tony's metallic arm when he didn't move his hand away. "I'm trying to work here."

"So am I, if you'd stop swatting at me that is." Tony pulled his hand away then made a grabbing motion in front of her. "I could grope something else if you like."

"Bad Tony, no treat for you." Scarlett swatted at his nose playfully then escaped from his arms. "We shouldn't leave those men lying around like that. If you can gather them I've got some rope we can use to slow them down. I'd like to search their pockets anyway if we can." She started toward the truck near the open gate so she could search for anything of interest, covering her mouth to stifle another cough.

She could hear the sound of Tony flying off again to do as she had requested and was surprised that he'd done so without any argument. But Scarlett wasn't willing to question why he'd listened and simply seized the opportunity to search the truck. Inside of it there was very little of interest. There wasn't even a radio to communicate with whoever had sent them and alerted them of her presence. It was probable that MedCo assumed she could outnumber any manned forces they sent after her and had made sure they would carry nothing that would provide her with any assistance in locating them so she could put a stop to their evil machinations. Continuously, the nefarious company flaunted their intelligence in front of her face and Scarlett had far more than enough of it. Slamming the truck door closed and cursing loudly, she threw her backpack onto the ground and sighed heavily.

Tony had risked his life for _nothing_. What had they gotten out of the town other than frustration, scrapes and bruises, and Scarlett far more electricity than she'd ever needed to feel coursing through her veins? There was the fact that she'd realized Tony could take care of himself. Plus part of her had enjoyed their fighting together immensely.

"God, what's wrong with me?" Rolling her eyes, Scarlett walked over to where she'd seen Tony carrying the unconscious forms of the men who had attacked them. The building closest to the entranceway of the ruined town was half destroyed but still sturdy enough for the men to be hidden safely inside without further damage caused to them. Reminding herself that these men were likely just as she had once been, hired to do a job, she didn't want to kill them. The only way she could justify that was if they were about to take her life.

Grumbling in annoyance, her temper now short and frustration causing her stomach to feel ill once again, Scarlett tied the wrists of the seven men together as tightly as she could manage.

"Sir, if I might make an observation." Jarvis shook Tony from his ever rapid thoughts.

"What's that, Jarvis?" Scarlett paid no mind to Tony speaking with his robot. As much as she missed the artificially intelligent computer, she had other things to do. She started turning the pockets of the men they'd captured inside out, gathering their cell phones and weapons. Each lacked identification of any kind and had the bare minimum on their person.

"Miss Damien seems rather _angry_."

"You think?" Tony peered curiously at Scarlett who once again started cursing as she dug through the remaining pockets of their attackers.

"I'm most certain."

"Hey, hey stop that." Tony moved closer to try and see what was annoying her. "Why are you so pissed off?" When he received no response from Scarlett who continued instead searching for something she'd seemingly never find, he continued on. "I don't like when you put your hands in other men's pants. My pants are just here waiting for such attention…" Scarlett didn't stop what she was doing, but did turn her attention to Tony just long enough to swat at the leg of his armor as if to scold him. "No hitting." He whispered playfully. Scarlett examined the collection of cell phones she'd gathered and whimpered in defeat when she realized each and every one of them had been destroyed in some way. Those that hadn't been made useless by the electrical charges they'd suffered had been shattered by Tony's repulsors.

"Back to square one." Scarlett threw the phone she was holding back in the pile and then with a long exhale wiped her hand over her furrowed brow. Tony realized why she was frustrated without having to ask. After the trouble she went through and the worrying she'd done after Tony had shown up on the scene, she had absolutely nothing to show for her efforts. He was guessing that she thought she'd finally caught a break and instead had gone on another wild goose chase. Resting his armored hand carefully on her shoulder to comfort her, Tony searched for the words to say to try and lighten the mood. Scarlett shrugged Tony's hand off after it rested there for a moment and then covered her mouth when the tickle in her throat roused another coughing fit.

"We're going to figure this out, you know." Tony finally managed to say.

"Every end I reach seems to be a dead one or a trap. And even worse I nearly got you killed this time in the process of untangling the web I wove."

"But I'm fine, Scarlett. Actually it was pretty hot watching you kick ass like that." Tony joked. "Plus we make a really great team. Look we're going to catch up to MedCo one way or another. It's inevitable." Scarlett smiled just a little at his words and then stood back up. Somehow Tony always knew just what to say. It was terrible that his sense of humor tickled her the way that it did. She couldn't count how many times she had wondered just what the hell was wrong with her for her to be so delighted by his perverse comments.

"Before we leave we should go through this place again just to make sure we didn't miss anything. It's possible that those men were in the area to protect something here. Obviously something horrible happened in this place and well… then someone came to cover up their tracks. If they weren't just waiting for me to show up, there's a chance we can still find something." Scarlett started out of the building and considered the best way to approach the task at hand. There was no point in telling Tony to get away now. He would be nothing but an asset in her search and maybe if she could get over her fear of getting him killed then they could work together as a team. That was a pretty big _if_ though. About to speak, Scarlett was cut short when a terrible scraping and grinding of gears echoed nearby. Chills went down her spine and Scarlett searched around her to try and find the source.

The sound grew louder and louder and Scarlett immediately recalled where she'd heard that noise before. At the charity event she'd attended with Tony the month prior, several drones that she had designed in order to buy time to escape and save her life as well as her ex-boyfriend's had shown up and caused chaos. They'd been nearly impossible to destroy and had done far more damage than she had ever guessed they could have been capable of when she'd been designing them. Her heart plummeted into her stomach.

Fatigue was settling into her bones and the coughing she'd experienced mildly over the last few days was worse than it had been before. Was there any way she would actually be capable of fighting off drones after what she'd already done that night? With Tony in his Mark VII they _might_ stand a chance but the odds weren't in their favor. Reaching down to check on the glove that she'd switched off before Tony had pulled it apart, Scarlett grimaced and flipped it back on so the weapon could charge. Then she grabbed her gun and checked the clip to make sure it was fully loaded.

Tony had Jarvis scan the perimeter and found that eight drones were approaching the site and fast at that. Trying to foresee a way through the nasty situation, Tony couldn't find a way out that wasn't going to end in bloodshed and most likely Scarlett's. Her vitals were weakened after their previous fight and while he was sure that she could take care of herself, he thought it'd be inevitable she'd receive serious injury being so outnumbered.

Flipping down the helmet of his suit, Tony grabbed quickly onto Scarlett and scooped her up into his arms. Triggering the stealth settings in his armor that would make him undetectable by any radar and heat tracking systems the drones likely possessed he flew as quickly as he could manage without causing Scarlett harm, up and away from the ruined town in hopes their escape would go unnoticed by the drones.

"Tony, we're not finished there yet! Put me down! There's still more we have to do!" Scarlett banged on the helmet of the Mark VII but Tony didn't stop or even bother answering. He knew she'd be upset with his decision but he didn't want to see her get hurt just as much as she didn't want to see _him_ get hurt. Giving him another smack on the helmet, Scarlett sighed heavily but gave up on convincing him to turn back. "You know, you've got to stop kidnapping me."

"I have never once taken you against your will. You have always been a willing and active participant." Tony chose to respond. Sighing with frustration, Scarlett knew that arguing with him over the noise of the wind around them would be futile so she quieted. After a few moments fighting the wind, Scarlett closed her eyes and leaned her head on the shoulder of Tony's armor, hiding her face against the side of its neck. Tony was torn between the nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach and the happiness he felt to have retrieved Scarlett in the nick of time. Despite how much had already transpired, Tony knew the night was long from over.


	7. Balcony Reminders

Once Tony was sure they weren't being followed by the robots and his stealth armor had done its job, the flight from the abandoned town to Dakar took about a half an hour. Scarlett had taken to examining details on the stealth armor that she wouldn't have otherwise gotten a chance to explore. It wasn't as though she got up close and personal with the Iron Man suits very often despite how frequently she'd been in close proximity to them. What she _really_ wanted was a week left alone with the suits to dismantle one and put it back together so she could understand the inner workings of them. But considering how trust was still an _iffy_ word between Tony and Scarlett, she was guessing that wouldn't happen any time soon.

Tony flew them to the top floor of one of the nicer hotels in the area, which didn't surprise Scarlett in the least given his spoiled nature, and landed on the balcony of what was presumably his room. Carefully, he set Scarlett down and made sure she didn't lost her balance when he let her go. Jarvis had been periodically alerting him of her condition as directed and made him aware that her vitals were evening out and it appeared her fever had even lessened to a much lower grade but Tony stayed silent and waited for Scarlett to give him the earful she had been surely preparing on the ride over.

While Scarlett _had_ been thinking up what had been abandoned at the old village and the potential leads she'd given up and preparing arguments for Tony on the ride over, the anger of being forcefully dragged from battle had faded considerably along the way. It came down to the fact that Scarlett understood what Tony had done. What Scarlett desired to do had been reckless and dangerous. Tony had diffused the situation in the only manner he knew how: removing them from it. In the long run, Scarlett knew he'd made the right call but it didn't make her feel any less frustrated by the missed opportunity.

"They're going to burn that town to the ground now that we're gone. You know that, don't you?" Scarlett finally chose her words as she paced across the balcony. Tony had triggered the Mark VII to start dismantling on its own accord and waited until the helmet had retracted into the remainders of the suit before responding to Scarlett.

"That's what they'd do if they're smart and considering what we've been through up until now with them? Yeah, I think that's what they're going to do." Tony ran his fingers through his hair to try and repair the style it'd been in before he'd donned his suit of armor.

"We weren't _finished_ there, Stark!" Scarlett glanced over the edge of the balcony and knew there was no escaping from the highest floor of the hotel, at least not that way. She found her own hotel near the airport across the city and knew she'd have to return there eventually to retrieve the bag she had left behind. "There was still more left to do! I wasn't _ready_ to go."

"More left to do? Do you hear yourself? What exactly were you planning to do with those giant robots breathing down your neck? I'm sure that would've worked out _really_ well."

"You can't butt into _my_ fights and make decisions for me! This is my life, Tony!" Scarlett still wasn't angry, but instead trying to make a point. After all that MedCo had done to hinder her progress, being angry with Tony for following his heart seemed pointless and unnecessary.

"This is your _vendetta_, Scarlett! This isn't a life of any kind! When was the last time you slept without me getting you drunk, huh? I'm the responsible one in this relationship! Do you _know_ how upsetting that is?" Tony tried to add his own brand of humor into their little argument, but knew that it was also a strangely serious comment. Considering Tony's track record with responsibility, the fact that he was being the careful one was _scary._

"You don't think things through before you act! What if there was something important still there? We could've worked together for once! We could've searched the place while avoiding the robots. I don't need to destroy those robots firsthand to get off or anything."

"No, I know exactly how you get off, if you remember." Tony scoffed. Scarlett shook her head in annoyance, though was partially amused by his jest.

"We weren't finished there! I'm never going to get ahead of MedCo if you keep jumping in front of me and slowing me down! We're running around in circles, Stark!" Scarlett turned away from the balcony in displeasure and placed her hand to her forehead in an attempt to keep her head from exploding with pressure.

"Not _that_ again. You can't just forget my first name whenever you're mad at me. It's not going to work like that. It's Tony! T-o-n-y. It's not that hard to remember, I can write it down for you." Tony pointed his index finger at her accusingly, taking a step closer to her. She strategically took a step away from him to keep him from closing the gap. While the space on the balcony was limited, Scarlett knew that getting closer to Tony always seemed to end in some kind of kissing and in order for her to stand her ground she would have to keep her distance, at least for a little while.

"Is that really important right now? What I call you? I have about a hundred other _really_ fantastic names for you if you'd like me to use one of those instead." Scarlett continued to back away when Tony took another step toward her. He was about to speak when he noticed the steps she was taking and actually smirked, once the gears had turned in his mind and he'd realized what she was up to.

"What is that? What are you doing?" Tony nodded to her feet.

"Nothing." Scarlett shook her head. "You're getting off topic, _again_, really Tony…" Purposely Tony took a step closer to her and Scarlett took a step away instinctively.

"What is that all about? Why are you moving away from me?"

"I am not." Scarlett knew she'd never hear the end of it if she offered him her real reasons.

"You're running away from me! Why is that?"

"I'm not _running_ anywhere! Would you look around you? There's nowhere to run. If I wanted to, I'd lock you out on this balcony and take cover but I'm here now aren't I? _Not_ running."

"You're taking these little dance steps back from me when I move closer to you. What is it? Am I just too hot to handle?" Tony teased the edge still thick in his voice from the stress of the battle they'd just escaped. Adrenaline coursed still through his system as it often did when he got to make use of his Iron Man suits coupled with the testosterone that arguing with Scarlett filled him with. It was a big ball of sexual tension waiting to explode and he was sure that something similar happened within Scarlett otherwise she wouldn't be backing away from him while they fought. Her resolve was usually much stronger than his.

"That has _nothing_ to do with anything right now. You just ruined a potential chance to get a leg up on MedCo and I'm not going to drop the subject just because you want to make fun of me for this sexual tension thing!"

"There was nothing there, Scarlett!" Tony slammed his fist against the railing of the balcony and spoke seriously for the first time since they landed. Quieting down, Scarlett folded her arms over her chest and let Tony speak. There had only been a handful of occasions in which Scarlett had seen Tony being serious and she couldn't say she was particularly fond of any of them. The first time had been when he'd been angry with her for manipulating his suit after it'd crashed thanks to an electromagnetic pulse much like the one that had sent him crashing through the ruined buildings earlier that night, and the only other time had been when she'd confessed to him how she'd tried to deceive him in order to bring his company crashing down around him only to find that she couldn't because she'd realized he was a good man.

Tony took a step away from her and brushed his fingers through his hair again, his other hand resting at his side as he considered what to say. Tilting her head to the side, Scarlett watched him carefully. He'd called her vengeful earlier. The words stung a little as she considered them. If anyone was supposed to understand what she was going through, it was Tony. The arc reactor still managing to give off a faint glow beneath his black t-shirt was a symbol of what Tony had become ever since his incident in Afghanistan. Of course vengeance was _part_ of what he went through and one of the reasons he'd become Iron Man but it hadn't been the ultimate thing that had driven him to become a better man.

"You can't know that." Scarlett finally spoke when she realized Tony was having trouble either quelling his frustration or finding his words.

"It doesn't matter!" Tony turned again to face her. "There was nothing there worth our lives, Scarlett. Something terrible happened in that place!"

"I know and I want to know what it was!"

"What would knowing change? You and I already know that those people are monsters. What would it prove if you found out what they're doing?"

"So I can stop them!" Scarlett took a step toward him, not yelling so much as she was pleading with him to understand. Her desperation far outweighed her need to keep a level head. "It's not about revenge or morbid curiosity, Tony!"

"Yes it is, don't try to talk to me about vengeance and getting even because I know exactly what that feels like! Getting your revenge isn't going to make you feel any better about what happened to you! All you can do is try to accept it and move on."

"God damnit, Tony! What I did to _you_ was about revenge, remember? I wanted vengeance! I wanted your blood in exchange for Scott's or at least I thought I did! Look where that got me!" Tony wanted to say '_to the love of her life'_ but kept the thought inside of his head because he was sure that's not what she was getting at.

"You're so hungry to give what happened to you meaning that you're tearing through Africa like a devil in a blue dress!" Tony argued instead.

"No! You're wrong!" Scarlett shook her head. "I don't want this to happen to someone else and I _know_ it's happening to other people, Tony! It happened to those people in that town, to Sergei, to _me_… and now they're using what I built in an attempt to save my life against me and everyone else! This isn't about _revenge_ it's about doing the right thing even if it means sacrificing what I really want."

"And when the hell was the last time you got what you wanted?" Tony was surprised by how defensive she'd become when he'd mentioned revenge. Clearly there was far more to what was going on in her mind than he knew, but there was no way he could know the whole story if she wouldn't tell him.

"This coming from the man who basically just told me I'm on an insane selfish rampage for vengeance because MedCo got the better of me? Sometimes I win Tony and sometimes I lose! I'm not an egomaniac! In the past I left it at that. You don't get to be as good as I am at what I do if you focus on every little failure and you should know what as well as I do. I'm trying to make some good out of a very bad situation."

"And what, getting yourself killed is on the agenda?" Tony sneered, shaking his head. "Even Bond knows when he's outnumbered and when to get the hell out of dodge."

"So, I should just give up?" Scarlett laughed, but there was no amusement in her voice. She turned away from him again and leaned her elbows on the balcony's railing, hanging her head in her hands. "It was one of my _only_ leads and now we can't go back there."

"There was nothing there, Scarlett." Tony leaned against the railing next to her, his back against it and arms folded across his chest.

"Well, we'll never really know that because of what happened."

"Something despicable happened there, you're right, and it was probably much worse than what MedCo did to you and Scott." Tony said his name with disdain. Even if he knew the man wasn't competition to him any longer, something about Scott didn't sit right with Tony. Then again, Tony wasn't exactly the kind to handle jealousy very well either, so he wasn't sure if his hunches were legitimate or simply a product of an overly analytic mind and over inflated green eyed monster. "I took as many samples as I could before I found you and I've already sent them back to a friend in the states to run some tests. We'll find out what they were doing one way or another but right now there's nothing you can do. What would you have done if we stayed there anyway besides get shot? Have you even considered armor or something?"

"I would've had you keep an eye on the robots while I searched what remained of the town. When it became too dangerous we would've created a distraction and escaped but instead you pulled the trigger on that a little early. And I usually don't _need_ armor because I don't draw attention to myself. That's _you_." Scarlett flexed her fingers in her left hand where her Tesla glove was still attached, feeling them tingling and numbed from the way it'd backfired on her while they'd fought MedCo's security agents.

"After that thing sent you flying across the town like that? No way. You're lucky you didn't break anything!" Tony shook his head adamantly. He was going to bring up the fever she'd been suffering for the last few days but decided against it unless she argued her health. There were some things better left alone and if she was getting better, he wasn't going to mention it.

"You went through a wall and I'm the one who can't handle myself?"

"I had full body armor on," Tony disputed.

"I wouldn't have gone flying across the room if someone had done their math right." Scarlett taunted.

"I crossed a _wire_, it wasn't my math." Tony pouted his bottom lip out then stood up straight. Grabbing her wrist away from the balcony he turned her to face him. "Scarlett, these guys are after _you_. It's not a race to get to some information or weapon before someone else does. This isn't espionage like you're used to. This isn't… a game. You think you're on this massive journey to vindicate yourself after having created those robots when no one can blame you for doing so in the first place but you're not! You're the only one who can't see that you're running right into their trap! These people are just as smart as we are but ten times more evil." Before Scarlett could object Tony interrupted again.

"Don't say that I have no ideas what you're capable of because I _know_ you well enough to know that there is not an evil part of you, no matter how hard you try to pretend there might be."

"I'm not stupid, Tony." Scarlett pulled his hand away as he rested it on her cheek so instead Tony grabbed her hand and pulled it to his lips to kiss her knuckles.

"I know that, trust me."

"They don't want to _kill_ me."

"I know that, too."

"You don't know everything." Scarlett couldn't help but smile, chuckling sardonically under her breath.

"I'm a pretty fast learner." Tony argued, resting her hand down on his shoulder for her. In one quick tug Scarlett's hair was free of the ponytail she'd pulled it into and chocolate curls fell around her face much to her frustration. Tossing the elastic ponytail over the side of the balcony, Tony smirked successfully.

"This is _exactly_ why I keep backing away from you." Scarlett pushed her rebellious hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ears so it would stop blocking her vision.

"You just don't like losing." Tony slipped his arm around her waist, his hand resting on the small of her back. As much as she objected to the idea of them getting close while they were arguing, she wasn't trying very hard to pull away from him either. Ever since the two had given into the tension they built up together, their fighting had often turned intimate. It was just as fun as it had once been, but now they got to fulfill the urges they built up without conflict of conscience.

"That's true." Scarlett nodded curtly after considering this information.

"Let me help you with MedCo." Wiping the back of his fingers against her cheek he brushed away some blood from a scrape she'd gotten during battle.

"We've been through this already."

"I have resourced you can only _dream_ of."

"The more technical I get the easier I am to trace." Scarlett pursed her lips but watched Tony's as he ran his thumb along the outline of her jaw. They were far more tempting than any technology he was offering.

"You know I'm not going to give up until I get through to you." Tilting her jaw up to close the small gap between them, Tony engulfed her lips slowly with his; first her lower lip and then her upper lip and leaving a small kiss on each of them before pulling away and only an inch or so at that.

"I'm going to end up getting you killed, Tony." Scarlett moistened her lips, resisting the urge to capture his lips again in hers like she so wanted to. When he leaned to again kiss her she tilted her head away so he'd miss. The scruff of his beard brushed against her cheek and over her jaw, since he was apparently not bothered by this.

"Don't worry about me so much. I can take care of myself." He whispered in her ear, letting his lips brush against the rim of it. Scarlett shivered but brought her hand to the side of his neck and couldn't help but smile despite the ache in the pit of her stomach from either guilt or illness; she couldn't quite tell which.

"I can't help it. For a genius, you're kinda dopey." Scarlett teased but couldn't resist brushing her nose against his cheek. Tony shivered and broke out in goose bumps from her touch.

"I am _not_ dopey."

"It's cute most of the time." Scarlett pulled back so she could look at him again but Tony wasn't going to let her get much further than that and Scarlett didn't really want to get much further either so she didn't resist.

"Dopey or not, we're in this together even if you don't like it very much." Tony urged her close again but she shook her head no and tugged back to keep him from doing so. Instead Tony turned her and urged her to lean against the sliding glass door that led into the hotel room he'd purchased for the night so she couldn't move away. Sighing heavily, Scarlett weighed the consequences of letting Tony assist her. If Tony helped her she'd at least be able to keep an eye on him. Unfortunately, he also relied too much on his instincts and while Scarlett was also guilty of that at times, she knew that Tony flying around in a suit of armor was a much bigger and obvious target than she was by herself in the cover of darkness.

Scarlett had stealth on her side, while Tony had technology on his. It was something she'd have to mull over before she decided to really agree to it. Regrettably, pressed against the glass of the door behind her on the balcony of what was surely an expensive hotel room wasn't exactly the ideal place for Scarlett to consider his proposal.

Tony's hand on the side of her neck felt heavy and constricting even though he placed little to no pressure on her and merely brushed callused fingers over her skin and urged his lips closer to hers. Her thoughts muddled and confused thanks to the intoxicating closeness of her lover, Scarlett brushed her lips against Tony's chin, recalling how once it had driven him wild. Visibly he shivered from her touch, a soft groan escaping his lips. Vaguely, Scarlett wondered if suffocation from sexual tension was possible.

The back of her head touched against the glass as Tony's lips engulfed hers again, far less sweetly than they had earlier. Hand against the side of his neck to guide her, she kissed him passionately in return, no longer able to resist the tug between them. It'd become much harder to stop kissing him once she'd given into the desire between them. How funny it was to think that it had been exactly the opposite of what she'd hoped for when Scarlett had first realized the mess she'd gotten into with Tony what seemed like so long ago.

Heart skipping a beat, Scarlett slipped her hand into his hair and tugged him closer so she could deepen the kiss. Tilting her head to the side she leaned away from the glass so she could open her mouth wider into the kiss. Lips had never tasted as sweet as Tony's did and every kiss was like a lightning strike making her tremble.

"No." Scarlett pulled her lips from the kiss abruptly but couldn't move very far and didn't pull her hand out of his hair. "I can't do this again." Placing her hand on his chest she let her lips gingerly brush against his in direct contradiction to what she was saying. "I _won't_ do this again. I've got to leave."

Tony pulled back and placed his hand on her cheek, letting his thumb brush against her lower lip. Relaxing his grip on her arm, he gave her the chance to pull away and run from him but she made little to no effort to even move.

"Okay, if that's what you want." Instead of letting her go, Tony returned to her lips and pulled her away from the glass of the door.

"It is." Scarlett whispered between kisses, but her arms were soon around his shoulders and pulling closer to him.

"I'm not stopping you." Tony fumbled behind her to try and open the door to the hotel room.

"Good," Scarlett muttered between sloppy kisses until Tony decided he'd lift her up and carry her into the hotel room. Groping for the handle of the sliding glass door, Tony moved it open while still keeping his attention fully on the woman in his arms who had wrapped her legs around his middle. Stumbling inside once it was open Tony started to kick off his sneakers. The soft hum of the Mark VII, neatly folded back up on its own accord, floating back into the hotel room was the only other sound besides their breathing. It took him multiple tries but Tony managed to close the sliding glass door while still entangling his lips with Scarlett's.

Arms around his shoulders and holding him close into the kiss Scarlett didn't take her attention away from his touches. The room was dark around them, only illuminated in the faint glow of the arc reactor between them. Tony stopped his walk in the middle of the room once he'd finally won the battle against his sneakers and concentrated on kissing Scarlett. Her right hand was on one side of his cheek, the other entangled in his short hair, strands of it getting caught in the gears of the Tesla glove she wore. The annoying tug didn't bother him but simply filled him further with the excitement and passion they shared.

She _needed_ him just as much as he needed her and it was more than just the tension they built up together. Something that had once terrified them both had become a comfort somewhere along the line and while neither one of them was willing to verbally admit that, they shared this secret in the darkness and the quiet of the hotel room in Dakar. Trying to recall the layout of the room he'd spent about ten seconds in earlier, Tony navigated through the suite of the hotel, bumping several times into pieces of furniture and corners of walls.

Eventually he took to leaning her against the doorway between the main room of the suite and the separate bedroom. For a long time the two sat kissing, entangled within each other's lips, a flurry of groans, touches and caresses shared while their hearts raced and palms began to sweat. It felt hard to breathe after so many kisses and Scarlett found herself taking more breaks from his lips to catch her breath. Her fingers brushed over the scruff on his jaw line which made them both shiver. Reaching around him she started to tug at his shirt with shaky hands. Tony pulled from her lips only to start kissing at her neck.

Frantically trying to start dismantling her Tesla glove, Scarlett cursed under her breath when it got stuck and instead continued trying to remove Tony's shirt, her fingers brushing gingerly down the length of his spine and to the small of his back. A low groan escaped Tony's lips and reverberated against her flesh making her gasp and shiver from his touch. Deciding he couldn't take much more of their playing around, Tony pulled her away from the doorway and started finally into the bedroom.

Stumbling forward with Scarlett still in his arms, Tony peeked around her in search of the bed. With the image of it in his mind's eye he returned to her lips and then walked toward where he knew it was until his knees bumped against the edge of the bed and the two of them fell forward onto the plush mattress when he lost his balance. Urging her further back onto the bed, Tony crawled over her and found her lips again, forcing her to lean her head back against the comforter. Before she could reach up to grab him as she often did, Tony started to tug away the jacket she'd worn out into the desert. The two managed to get it off and around her Tesla glove with ease, along with the bag that she'd been carrying around. Pushing it aside and eventually off the bed, Tony refused to pull his lips away from hers through the process.

"I have to get this thing off…" Scarlett muttered against his lips, brushing the fingers of her Tesla glove against Tony's cheek to let him know what she was talking about. Nodding his head, Tony grabbed her wrist and kissed just below the glove where he could see her scraped up flesh from the battle. Carefully he started to pull apart the glove one piece at a time but stopped with a groan as Scarlett nipped playfully at his ear.

"You're going to make me break it." He threw her a skeptical glance. In response she purposely bit his ear lobe again and gave it a playful tug before letting her lips brush back down the side of his neck. Tony chuckled low and then finally managed to carefully remove the brilliant piece of machinery she'd developed for herself. Knowing how important it was to her, he didn't throw it off of the side of the bed with the discarded clothing and instead took the time to set it on the nightstand. Scarlett grabbed him by the hem of his shirt and pulled him back to her once she heard him setting it down. Wrapping her legs around his middle she urged him away from the nightstand and back into her arms where she started to slowly pull the shirt up and off of him. Her nails slowly traced over his back beneath his shirt.

Tony's hands crept beneath her shirt, keeping her from pulling his up any further. Biting at his lip and giving him a playful but intimate growl, Scarlett then pushed him over onto his back and straddled his hips. Reaching down she quickly untied her boots and slid them off the side of the bed with her socks. Hardened hands artfully brushed over her stomach beneath her shirt making her shiver and coo softly. Swatting at his hands, Scarlett pushed them away from her shirt and kissed him again passionately, pushing his head into the comforter as he had done to her earlier. Then she started, once again, at the shirt that seemed to be defeating her. Hands beneath it and just about to maneuver it over his arms, Scarlett squealed in surprise when Tony grabbed either side of her and forced her over once again.

Due to how close to the edge of the bed they were, Scarlett nearly went flying off the side of it as he pushed her over but thankfully Tony had been paying enough attention to wrap his arms securely around her and pull her back against him. Sitting up now on the bed with her safely in his arms, the two of them staring at the edge of the bed illuminated by the glow of Tony's now exposed arc reactor. The haze of sexual tension temporarily cleared so they could breathe. Tony laid them both back on the bed where they considered what had transpired. Scarlett knew she should put a stop to what they were doing for more than the usual reasons, considering how ill she'd been earlier in the day.

But try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to get up and walk away from him. He was watching her with those playful brown eyes again, feeling her out during the moment of serenity amongst the haze of hormones they'd become. Scarlett realized he must have known that she was finding some clarity and was awaiting her decision. Now that she'd had a moment to think about something other than getting Tony's pants off, Scarlett could feel the exhaustion in her limbs from both the battle in the abandoned town and the sickness.

"I got air sick earlier. I threw up all morning." Deciding that it would only be fair to tell him since she'd decided to stay even though she'd already spent the last twenty minutes kissing him, Scarlett offered a weak smile. "I don't want to get you sick if it's more than that."

"Did you brush your teeth?" Tony couldn't hide the confident grin and the mischievous sparkle in his eyes. Laughing under her breath, Scarlett furrowed her brow in confusion and nodded her head. "Then it's fine." Tony immediately went for her lips again before she could change her mind and urged her onto her back, hands once again beneath her shirt.

Tilting her lips away from his she clicked her tongue in disapproval and placed a finger against his lips. Expectantly Tony waited for her to say something but instead laughed when he felt her hands at his shirt that she'd been fruitlessly trying to remove for the last ten minutes.

"Yes, ma'am." Sitting up, Tony pulled his shirt over his head and then tossed it to the side and away, comically flexing for her as he did so. Amused, Scarlett clapped for the show she'd been given and then started to tug him back toward her. Instead Tony urged his hands to her sides and lifted her up to sit with him. Pulling her into his lap so she was straddling his hips he kissed her again, his hands at her sides while hers brushed her fingers over his abdomen and traced the outline of his muscles. She was partially checking to make sure he hadn't sustained any severe injuries in their battle and partially enjoying herself while she did so.

Hands still underneath her shirt and making a point to brush his callused fingertips against her since he knew how much she enjoyed the sensation, Tony tugged the tank top up and off of her and tossed it aside being ever careful of the scrapes and bruises he found along the way. As he was about to address the scrape on her arm she'd received during battle he was interrupted when he found her hips grinding against his. Rational thought completely slipped away and returned to the haze of passion and pleasure that such an action encouraged while a low groan escaped his lips.

Her lips trailed down his neck, nipping softly at his flesh as she went, moving slowly down to his reactor where she let her fingers trace around the circular pattern. When he tried to regain her lips, she placed her index finger under his chin and urged him away before kissing over his chest, her fingers now on his stomach once she was sure that he wasn't going to stop her. She made no point to avoid his reactor or to show it special attention. Instead, Scarlett treated it like every other part of him.

This still surprised Tony for some reason and struck him as odd but not in a bad way. Filled with a warm and peculiar sensation that didn't seem familiar amongst the hormones and sexual appetite he usually felt, Tony closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensual movements of her lips against his flesh.

Made aware again of the attraction they'd built up as Scarlett readjusted her hips against his and kissed back up to his neck, Tony groaned and tightened his grip on her sides and slid his hands down to her backside. Grabbing at her playfully he gave her a squeeze before sliding his hands back around to the front of her jeans where he fumbled with the button and started to unzip them. Returning to her lips, Tony spoke between messy and heated kisses.

"I miss when you used to wear skirts all the time." Groaning, Tony pulled away from her lips so he could pay attention to the jeans that seemed far too complicated for his liking.

"You just miss the easy access." Scarlett kissed down to his chin and hashed her teeth against the scruff that met her there sending chills down her spine.

"I'm not arguing with that." Tony urged her to lie back on the bed once again and slid her jeans away from her hips after a few tugs. Scarlett's hands slipped down his back side where she gave his butt a playful pat before unbuttoning his pants as she went. Simultaneously she started to push them out of the way and off of him. Before she could finish Tony moved away from her and slid her jeans off of her entirely, tossing them to the floor. Tony returned to where she laid waiting for him and then slowly rested his body down against hers, his pants still half hanging on, one arm on the side of her so he could prop himself up just enough to use the bed for leverage and the other hand going straight into her hair to push it out of her face.

Tony's mouth engulfed hers in a struggle for dominance that she was willing to submit to rather quickly, seeing just how good those lips felt. Much to her surprise, Tony didn't rush her as he sometimes did when he was in such a state, throbbing against her the way he was, and instead laid there kissing her and playing with her hair. She took this time to explore his lips, holding her breath for as long as she could between kisses which only succeeded in making her heart beat faster. Gingerly she made her fingers trail down his back, feeling how his muscles flexed to keep him propped up on top of her.

She tried tugging down his jeans with her toes but they weren't going anywhere, seemingly stuck between them considering the precarious position they were laying in together. Suddenly she felt his rough hand against her breast, caressing the soft and tender flesh and she bit his tongue accidentally in response. Tony winced and pulled away from her lips but left his hand right where it had been to continue the sensual act, the other hand holding her bra that he'd apparently artfully removed without her noticing while they'd been kissing. Scarlett stared at him, mouth agape and furrowed her brow in wonder.

"How the hell…?"

"It's a gift." Tony shrugged but then returned his attention to where his hands were caressing her sensitive flesh, his lips leaving kisses down her neck. Scarlett arched her back into his touch, her skin breaking out with goose bumps from his fingers. Things suddenly felt far more urgent than they had only moments prior. Scarlett hooked her leg around his and urged his hips closer to hers, feeling the heat of him through exposed boxers. Tony lifted his hips in surprise and let his mouth hang open in surprise. Grabbing his chin Scarlett tugged him close to kiss her passionately. He kept pulling away so that he could try to get his jeans off, apparently being caught on his boxer shorts. Each time he got close to fixing the problem at hand, Scarlett tugged his lips back to hers for kissing which successfully distracted him from his task.

"I can't concentrate when you do that…" Tony eventually placed both hands on either side of her then propped himself up far enough away that she couldn't continue to pull him close to kiss. He kicked his jeans finally away and tossed them to the side. Scarlett leaned up on her elbows and kissed him again passionately regardless, leaving a soft nip on his lower lip as she pulled back but only about a centimeter or so.

"That's too bad." Scarlett sat up and pushed him onto his back, straddling his hips again and urging her hands onto his shoulders to hold him in place before kissing him again feverishly. Tony shivered and returned her kisses, his hands attempting to push her hair over her shoulders so it wouldn't cover her breasts but seemingly only getting caught in the process.

Sitting up on top of him, Scarlett shook her hair away and then slid back far enough so she could manipulate his boxers up and away from him, just far enough so that he was free of them. She shivered and cooed when Tony's hands crawled up her stomach and over her breasts, caressing them each only for a moment before returning to her hips so he could work away her panties. Deciding it would be too much work to do so, Tony planned just to rip them at the sides which had become something of a fetish of his over the past couple of weeks.

Knowing what he was up to Scarlett swatted his hands away and slipped away her panties before he could tear them apart. He watched her hands as they moved, mouth hanging open slightly and tilting his head to the side curiously.

"Well, that's no fun."

"You can't destroy _all_ of them." Scarlett laughed and urged his shoulders back down again as he grabbed at her hips, the mattress bouncing slightly from the force.

"Feisty…" Tony growled playfully, chomping his teeth together, eyes still sparkling with mystery. Readjusting herself on top of him, having a hard time catching her breath for more than one reason, Scarlett had to stop herself before pushing over him.

"Would you stop squirming?"

"I can't help it!" Tony smirked but before Scarlett could respond or push him back down, he grabbed her around her waist, lifted her up and laid her back on the bed. Kissing up her chest, Tony found that her head was near the edge of the foot of the bed and once he was sure she wouldn't fall off, he pushed her thighs apart, readjusted himself and slipped inside of her with a loud but low groan. Tensing her body and surprised by the sudden action, Scarlett reached behind her and grabbed at the side of the bed, the other hand grabbing onto Tony's back as she adjusted to the feel of him.

"God… Oh…"

"No, no… Just Tony." He purred playfully into her ear, giving it a soft kiss along her jaw. She swatted at his back tauntingly and he chuckled in response, only to have the sound turn into a deep moan.

"You're an ass…" She managed to finally speak once the startling sensation of him had swept over her and allowed her access to her voice again.

"And you love me, so what does that make you?" Tony grunted and lingered above her before starting to urge his hips in slow motions inside of her. Reaffirming her grip on his shoulder, Scarlett braced her feet against the bed and urged her hips with his motions, wanting to build up the excitement within him as much as he did within her. Sex had always been natural with Tony which Scarlett was still flustered by. It'd either been a chore or a tool to reach an end for her in the past and now with Tony it was something far beyond their control that took her to another place.

"Still not… an ass." Scarlett bit her lip to stifle a groan as she moved but then found his lips with hers again. Playing submissive had never been her role before she'd met Tony but it was different than it had been with others. The struggle for dominance had been so much fun between the two that it didn't matter to her who won and since it seemingly _did_ matter to Tony that he ended up being top dog, Scarlett was completely okay with feeding into it. Not to mention, most men gave up on dominance when they got their hands on a woman like Scarlett because if she wanted to have their way with them, they'd let her.

"Damn…" Tony cursed, but not in response to the way she had spoken to him, but instead to the sensations they were building up at their slow and agonizing pace. His thighs trembled and tingled as he moved and while his body was urging him desperately to move faster to get what it wanted, he kept moving slowly to build them both up in hopes of getting her to vocalize her satisfaction. When it became clear that Scarlett couldn't hold onto their kisses for as long as his lips desired to, he kissed instead down her neck and allowed her time to breathe properly in case sickness had made it harder on her.

Finding the faded spot on the side of her neck where Tony had marked her during a prior encounter, he let his tongue brush around it once more before attacking it again as he once had. Hand in his hair, Scarlett gave it a swift tug to try and stop him from doing so but wasn't fast enough.

"Tony… Don't…" She groaned in a scolding tone, a mixture of disapproval and excitement.

"Mine…" He nipped at the spot again which made her jump and resulted in him having to buck his hips against hers in response. Crying out in surprise Scarlett slipped both arms tightly around his shoulders in reaction, gripping tightly at his sweaty flesh. Smirking in response he nuzzled his nose against the spot in her neck. "Sensitive there, are we?"

Finding his lips again, Scarlett silenced his arrogant taunts and slid her hands further down his back, pressing her fingertips hard against his skin. Her body desperately needed his to move faster. Adjusting her legs one at a time, she wrapped them around his middle and pulled him tighter to her. Seeing stars in her vision, she had to pull away from his lips to relieve her lungs, soft sounds of pleasure echoing through the room. Tony instinctively bucked his hips against hers again and pushed her harder against the bed. Resting his forehead against hers, Tony sped up the rhythm of his hips with hers, feeling the tension starting to build higher and higher within him.

"Scarlett…" Tony growled her name quietly as he continued moving his body faster and more erratically than before. Closer and closer they crept together toward their explosive end. Scarlett tried to stifle cries of passion as each push led them nearer to ecstasy but couldn't manage to. Each motion he made urged her to cry out for him, sometimes with a soft mutter of his name and sometimes with nothing more than a cry to a deity she didn't subscribe to. Hand on her thigh to help keep her wrapped around him as he felt her tremble with pretense, Tony couldn't wait any longer.

As he reached his end with a shout of pleasure, he was delighted to feel her body doing the same and at nearly the same moment. Her face red with passion and her outcry matching his, he felt her body twitch and ache around him as wave after wave of her orgasm swept through her, filling her with warmth and feelings she couldn't control. Tony's body flooded with the sudden pleasure of his own climax and his trembling thighs struggled to keep up the pace that he'd built them up too.

"Tony, I…Oh God…" Shaking her head from side to side, Scarlett couldn't escape the flood of passion overwhelming her and was unable to finish her thought. Nodding his head frantically, Tony snapped his eyes open to watch the pleasure cross her features in his blue reactor light as he was sure it was directly caused by _his_ pleasure. The sweat was dripping down his flesh and melting into hers as he kept them moving united as one until his body forced him to start slowing down. There was nothing quite like the feeling they experienced together each time they met beneath the sheets, but neither one of them was ready to admit that to the other.

Finally slowing his body to a stop, Tony kissed her, his hand lazily moving from her hip, tracing the dips of her muscles over her stomach, his thumb brushing over her belly button, then up between her breasts and onto her cheek, holding her into the kiss.

Scarlett took several breaths between kisses to try and relieve the ache in her lungs but refused to sacrifice his touch just so she could breathe properly. Air didn't seem like a necessity when her body was riddled with such phenomenal bliss. Once they could both breathe at a more normal rate, Tony pulled from her lips and started to kiss over her neck.

Scarlett lethargically let her fingers brush through his hair and over the back of his neck, watching as he shivered each time she did so, pleased how he made no move to stop her from continuing to do it. The light of his reactor was stifled as he laid flat against her, waiting for his limbs to regain enough strength to properly pull away. Scarlett could feel the renewed mark on her chest once again from how he'd rested the heated metal of the reactor against her flesh while they'd made love.

"I love you, Tony…" Scarlett sighed contently and tiredly, closing her eyes as she played with his sweaty hair. Tony smiled to himself. It wasn't something she often admitted so bluntly but when she did he was always glad to hear it. Most times he just teased her about being in love with him and it sometimes left him wondering if maybe he was pushing it too hard. He couldn't help that he was excited about the fact that he was actually in love and not absolutely terrified of the concept. Every time they met with danger he was reminded of how short their lives could potentially be. They should never miss a chance to say what was really on their minds simply because of how stubborn they were. Times like those they shared that night in bed, Tony was sure Scarlett felt the same way.

"I know." Tony smiled and when Scarlett swatted him playfully on the back of his neck he laughed. "I love you, too."

"That's better." Scarlett laughed weakly, sounding incredibly exhausted considering the long day she'd had. Carefully, Tony leaned up on his hands and knees and pulled away from her body. Afterward he laid back down with his head on her shoulder, letting their bodies cool down further. Grabbing Scarlett's hand he urged it back into his hair so that she would play with it again, something he'd grown rather fond of.

Silently the two laid together for a long time. Tony found the mark on her chest that his reactor had left behind. Guilt pitted in his stomach for having left it there. It wasn't a foreseen consequence of what they'd done together and it wasn't something that had ever happened with anyone else outside of her. Eyeing the scar, he sat there wondering about it for a long time before he reached to trace his fingers around the pattern.

"If we keep this up as often as we are, this thing is going to end up permanent." Tony let his palm rest flat over the mark and sighed. When she didn't respond he leaned up to gather her attention only to find that she had fallen asleep. Laughing softly and shaking his head Tony carefully sat up. "Yeah, that's my favorite lullaby too, Scarlett." Sliding toward the head of the bed, Tony tugged the blankets down sloppily.

Reaching back to grab Scarlett, he carefully cradled her in his arms in hopes of moving her without rousing her. He waited for her to wake up and scold him for interrupting her sleep but instead she leaned into his touch and continued her slumber. Surprised that she was such a heavy sleeper considering everything he knew about her, he slid her under the covers at the head of the bed and then slipped in next to her before covering them both up.

Resting next to her contently he pushed her hair out of her face, making sure that the pieces that had stuck to her skin from sweat were gone and out of the way. After that he laid there watching her and making sure she continued to rest until finally sleep found him.

It always seemed easier for him to find sleep when he knew that Scarlett was safely resting next to him.


	8. Darker Minds

_[[Sorry I was busy yesterday and just got around to finishing!]]_

Screaming suddenly roused Scarlett from her slumber. Her mouth was so dry she gagged painfully and when she made an attempt to lick her lips and wet her mouth she found them cracked and bloody. Sitting up slowly, she felt every part of her ache with soreness she hadn't felt in years or at least soreness she _thought_ she hadn't felt in years. Vision blurred and head pounding from dehydration Scarlett had a very difficult time convincing her neck to actually properly support her skull the way that it was supposed to. Blinking her dry and stinging eyes, eventually she was able to see into the darkness of the cold and dreadfully familiar cell she'd spent far too long in.

Closing her eyes again instinctively to hide from the gruesome realization Scarlett repeated over and over again that it had to be a dream and couldn't possibly be real. Her voice was scratchy and her hands were trembling due to sickness and malnutrition. The screaming from the next room was far too real to be a dream, but she knew it had to be. It'd been over a year since she'd broken out of that place and she'd healed with time and moved on with her life. Even though things with MedCo had gone sour afterward, it was still better than ending up back _here_.

If that was the case then why was she _back?_ Surely it must have been some dastardly ploy of her subconscious to torture her in the darkest regions of her mind. Slowly opening her eyes again, Scarlett discovered that her arms were chained to the cot in the room with archaic looking shackles. The cot had been the only bit of furniture she'd been allowed to keep. Observing her surroundings Scarlett tried to recall what had happened while she'd been held captive but her memory of that time was foggy. It wasn't that she didn't _want_ to remember it, it was that her mind wasn't letting her out of protection of her psyche. The only time that she relived moments of the hell she'd experienced in Afghanistan was when she slept and her mind was vulnerable. Despite knowing she had to be in a dream, fear crippled her logical mind and allowed the nightmare to continue.

Slowly and cautiously, Scarlett lifted her head and leaned it against the metal frame of the cot once the pain in her pounding skull was too unbearable. She'd taken to sleeping on the floor because it was better for her back, particularly considering the abuse her body had been through. The cot was barely comforting and more often than not she had wound up poked and prodded by rebellious springs, or with new aches and pains caused by the bars beneath the thin mattress. How many times had she attempted escape from her prison cell at that point? Eventually her bed had been taken away too and she'd been left with nothing but chains and torture due to her rebellious nature.

Even beaten and broken, Scarlett wasn't exactly the type to give up while she still had strength in her bones and air in her lungs. The only thing she lived for in that prison was escape. But something was different from the time she'd spent in the prison over a year ago. The screaming was different. Before then she'd never had any inclination that anybody else had ever been held captive outside of her. But _someone_ was screaming in pain, their voice sounding as scratchy and horrified as Scarlett's had when it was her turn to suffer. The voice was familiar but she refused to believe there was any truth to who she thought it was.

Whoever it was, she needed to help them. It was a new goal, something she could focus on outside of her illness and escape. Slowly getting to her feet, having to hunch over thanks to the shackles, Scarlett fell immediately back onto the cold floor. Her feet were bloodied and torn apart. The bottoms of them had been recently slashed open after another escape attempt as punishment.

Lying with her face on the cold stone floor she maneuvered so she could see her bloodied feet and determine the damage that had been done to them. She remembered very clearly when that had first been done to her and hated the visual reminder of how awful her feet looked. Open gaping flesh in desperate need of stitches, reflected back at her. It would take weeks for them to heal properly and even then they would never quite feel the same. Scar tissue on the bottom of her feet would constantly remind her of the horrible things done to her. Nothing short of reconstructive surgery would've helped and thankfully she'd been able to afford to do that.

"Damnit…" Cursing she closed her eyes and tried to find the strength to walk on battered feet. Her wrists were sore and bloody from being shackled so frequently but in comparison to her feet felt like nothing. The screams from the next room shook her to the bone again. Covering her ears she whimpered to try and make the sound stop, but it only got louder as she tried to hide from it. The shouting came from every direction, and seemed to be taunting her on purpose.

The voice was unmistakable, she could no longer deny it, and she'd never forget the haunting sound of the man she loved in pain and misery surrounding her. Tony was somewhere in the next room and something terrible was being done to him because of what she'd gotten him involved in. Determination renewed for her lover, Scarlett pushed herself to sit up again and got to her knees at long last. Her feet were throbbing as the scabs that had formed while she rested pulled apart and blood dripped over the sensitive skin and onto the floor. She swore she could hear each droplet on the stone beneath her and feel the knife slashing over the skin slowly again. The wounds had been made methodically to prove a point.

Reaching for the cot, Scarlett found one of the springs that was sticking through the mattress and started to pull. Her fingers were raw from various escape attempts, nails cracked and hands trembling from lack of nutrition. Vision blurred again thanks to the pain in her feet, she carried on regardless. Scarlett would go to _any_ extremes in order to save Tony. There would never be a doubt in her mind that she would do whatever she needed to do to help him. It struck her at that moment that when Scott's life had been on the line there had been times when she'd considered forfeiting his life for the greater good.

But unlike Scott, there was nothing that was worth more than Tony's life to Scarlett, and it was a weird sort of feeling in the pit of her stomach that bottled up as she realized it. Finally her callused fingers managed to free the rebellious spring. It took some effort but she managed to straighten it enough that she was able to place it in the lock of her shackles. Closing her eyes and leaning her head against the uncomfortable mattress, she tried to coach herself with reminders that none of what she was experiencing was real so that when she stood up the pain she felt wouldn't knock her right back down onto the ground.

The spring was unnaturally sharp and cut at her fingertips. The groaning of stone and metal drew her attention. Walls were closing in on her and the urgency within her heightened dramatically. It was hard enough to pick a lock without the proper tools, nonetheless something as archaic and rusted as the shackles used to confine her. Adjusting her wrists, Scarlett grimaced when something scratched against her flesh and the shackles tightened. The metal shifted and changed. Scarlett hurried picking the lock on her shackles with the spring she'd straightened out and tried to ignore the grip of panic on her heart.

Just in time, she managed to open the lock and slip her wrists free of the manacles that had developed fangs and were chomping now on nothing but air. Scarlett's heart was racing in her chest as she tried to ward off the hallucinations from the fever plaguing her. Sweat dripped down her brow and her stomach churned. It was funny; she hadn't felt the symptoms of illness until she'd recalled how ill she'd been while being held captive. Still hearing the threatening chomping of the shackles she'd discarded, she glanced down at them and sighed. Whatever nightmarish game her subconscious was playing, it wasn't going to disappear simply because she wanted it to.

Bracing herself for the pain she'd feel, Scarlett used the cot and the wall to help get to her feet. She saw stars and cried out in pain as the broken bottoms of her feet rubbed against the ground. Hunching forward and cursing, she punched the wall in frustration only to find that the shackles had returned to their place around her wrists, no longer imprisoning her to the bed if nothing else. Thankfully the diabolical teeth had disappeared. Surprised she looked down at the place on the floor where she'd discarded the shackles and saw them missing.

Cursing and slamming her hands against the stone wall, Scarlett nearly collapsed on the floor out of frustration.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake the _hell_ up!" Scarlett gripped her hair and whimpered in misery. Eventually she was able to get control of her emotions and exhaled deeply. The sounds of screaming from the other room started up again, sounding more pained and miserable than they had previously. Scarlett's legs finally crumbled beneath her. Covering her ears she shook her head and tried to drown out the sound of Tony's screaming. "God damnit!" Scarlett opened her eyes once the screaming ceased and looked down at the restraints on her wrists. Resolutely she got to her feet again, using the spring to once more break the lock on the shackles she'd earlier discarded.

Throwing them behind her in hopes they wouldn't mystically return, she limped forward, having to drag her right bloodied foot toward the surprisingly open door of her cell. They had done that to her several times during captivity, to taunt her, shoving it in her face that she couldn't get away even with the door open and the way clear. Turning the corner outside of the cell in search of the room where Tony was being kept and tortured, Scarlett continued down the hall, eventually able to put pressure on her right foot without collapsing. The screaming continued, echoing further away than it had been before. It seemed the sound wanted her to chase it.

Lights flickered overhead in the hallway then turned off one by one until she was left standing alone beneath a singular light. Scarlett turned around in a circle, searching for the source of footsteps all around her. Taking a chance and gritting her teeth as she prepared for pain, she ran from the light and through the shadows as fast as she could. Her feet were throbbing miserably and starting to numb. Eventually they gave out underneath her and she fell flat on her face, sliding to a stop a few feet from where she'd tripped.

Immediately she pushed herself back up so she could keep going despite the pain she was in but stopped when she realized the hallway she was in had changed. The walls were white but marred with specks of blood. In the center of the room was a table and Scarlett was terrified to see what was on top of it. Sitting carefully up she confirmed her fears, finding Tony strapped to the table, electrodes attached to his hands and feet, shocking him and putting his arc reactor into overdrive. It was only a matter of time before it gave out and shrapnel in his chest reached his heart.

He was bleeding from various wounds on his flesh and screaming in misery. Scarlett immediately got to her feet but as she did she felt something grab onto her ankle and pull her further away. The pain in her feet suddenly magnified. Glancing down to find the source Scarlett saw her feet were bathed in shadow. Whatever was pulling her wanted to remain unseen. Gripping at the floor she scratched and tugged, attempting to crawl away. The force was too strong, the shadows started to overtake her.

The same shadow was growing on the other side of the room, where Tony was crying out in horror and suffering. Something in the shadows seemed to be causing him more severe trauma. Scarlett clawed at the floor, her nails breaking and bleeding as she struggled against the unseen force in her subconscious. Tony's cries got louder and louder, more miserable and desperate. He was screaming out for her to help him, to save him and asking her why she wasn't there for him when he needed her. Try as she might, she _couldn't_ reach him and she _couldn't_ save him.

Scarlett broke down into tears on the floor, still desperately trying to pull forward so she could save him.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry… Tony, I'm sorry!" She should've never gotten him involved in her mess. Sometime over the last few months he'd become the most important thing in her life and the only constant in the mix of confusion that had built up around her. He was all she'd had and she had never _had_ something worth losing before in the past. Tony's voice started to fade, choke and disappear. He was dying and there was nothing she could do to save him.

Tony jumped awake, startled, when something pushed at him hard from the next to him in bed. Sitting immediately upright and searching around the dark hotel room with wide eyes, he tried to regain his senses and find the source of the bump that had interrupted his slumber. In the pale blue glow of his arc reactor, he could see only Scarlett who was tossing and turning miserably in bed next to him. She'd apparently hit him in her sleep and was struggling against some form of nightmare. He'd seen her have terrible nightmares before but had never been in a position to do anything about it until then.

Looking around the room and trying to consider what he should do, since Tony didn't often have the opportunity to comfort _anyone_ and no one had ever been there to comfort him through _his_ nightmares, he stared blankly into the darkness. Maybe he was over thinking it. It wasn't that confusing a situation. Scarlett was still tossing and turning next to him despite his indecision. Reaching to wrap his arms around her instinctively when she whimpered, he pulled her close to him so she'd stop rolling and twitching if nothing else. Maybe if he could get her to lay still and relax, she'd calm down and the dark thoughts would cease to be.

She winced like she was in pain when he grabbed and Tony again widened his eyes in surprise. There was a scrape on her arm from the battle the night before at the abandoned town but it wasn't severe enough to get that sort of a reaction from her. Carefully, Tony adjusted her in the bed urged her to rest her head against his shoulder. At first she resisted, but it only took seconds for her to relax and lean against him.

Her skin was warm and clammy, and she was dripping with sweat. Tony was only momentarily disgusted by the idea of her sweat against him until he'd realized that what had put them to sleep had the same result and he shrugged it off. Somehow sweat seemed different transferred in the heat of their lovemaking than it did for restless sleep. Leaning his head down against hers gently, he heard her mumbling something in her sleep and perked up.

"What was that, baby?" Tony whispered, trying to coax some information about what she was struggling with. A smile formed on his lips as he considered she would likely give him a hard time for giving her a pet name.

"It hurts," She muttered, barely audible despite being so close to Tony.

"What hurts?" His curiosity was getting the better of him. He knew that she'd _never_ tell him what had happened in her past that was now plaguing her in her nightmares if he flat out asked. How could she possibly tell him something so obviously intimate if she was still learning to deal with it? Maybe when she'd been in MedCo's clutches her conditions had been worse than she'd let on. Something told him that it was a completely different situation. While he had no proof, his gut was telling him that it had very little to do with her time spent in South Africa working for MedCo.

"I _can't…_" Her body was shaking from head to toe, no longer comforted by his touch. Unsure if she was cold or having some sort of reaction to her nightmare, Tony pulled the sheets higher around her so she was covered and hoped it would help keep the chill out of her bones.

"Yes you _can,_ Scarlett."

"…so much pain…" Tony looked away and sighed quietly, trying not to think about what could've been done to her to make her so miserable. And yet he couldn't stop thinking about it either. He was reminded of when she'd had the burn on her leg tended to in his mansion. She'd never complained or made so much as a peep despite how horribly painful the process had to have been. There had to be a considerable amount of pain inflicted upon her for her to complain about the torture in her sleep.

Carefully Tony adjusted her, slipped her out of his arms and rested her flat on the bed. Climbing out from beneath the comforters, he pulled his boxers that had been discarded the night before back on. Walking over to the closet, he pulled out one of the hotel robes and draped it over his shoulders, tying it loosely to drive out the cold from the air conditioner. Slowly he gathered his clothing and hers and placed them in lazy piles on the floor. Eventually he was able to find his phone amongst the clothing that was strewn about the room.

Discarding the multiple messages from Pepper and Rhodey that popped up, Tony flipped open the crystal clear screen and disabled the sound so that he wouldn't wake Scarlett who still looked tortured in her sleep. Part of him wanted to wake her up and stop her suffering, but the other part of him knew she needed rest.

"Jarvis, I need you to read her vitals again for me." Tony walked over to the bed and held the phone up so it could get a clear picture of where his girlfriend was resting. A few seconds later Jarvis was displaying results on the screen, letting him know of her elevated temperature, erratic breathing and raised heart rate. Closing the screen after having taken in the information, Tony sat down on the edge of the bed and contemplated just how long she'd been sick and not telling him.

Then again, she _had_ told him that she'd experienced motion sickness on the plane and had been throwing up. Tony guessed it was more than that and partially wondered if she _knew_ it was anything worse. Pulling the blanket up and around Scarlett, he got back up from the bed and considered what could be bothering her in her dreams. Maybe he could get a doctor to come up to the hotel room to take a look at her in the morning if he could convince her to stay. She hadn't needed any alcohol to convince her to stay the night before, so he was hoping that battling with her and proving he could hold his own in dangerous situations had done something to relieve the fear she felt.

But if he called a doctor, he wondered if doing so would violate her trust. She'd gotten angry with him for calling the shots and dragging her away from the abandoned village before she was ready, even if he was _still _sure that he'd made the right call. No, he'd try to convince her to see a doctor if it got any worse. Their relationship had taken weeks to develop and only because the two had been so intent upon keeping secrets and telling lies. It wasn't going to be easy for Tony to play fair, but he figured it wasn't easy for Scarlett to do so either and she was obviously trying.

Picking up the bag that he'd discarded when undressing Scarlett earlier that night, Tony set it on the table and considered going through it. What was the harm? He had just decided to play fair; digging through his girlfriend's private things when she was sick and asleep probably wasn't considered a trustworthy action. But curiosity got the better of him again. It wasn't that he _wanted_ to pry.

Well, maybe it _was_ because he wanted to pry.

Tony emptied the contents of the bag onto the table carefully and quietly. There was a 9mm handgun, extra ammunition, a hunting knife in its sheath, her cell phone and a worn old notebook tied up with string. It was exactly what he'd expected to find in his Bond girlfriend's bag, except for the files she'd stolen from Agent Pierce. He'd been hoping to get them back so that the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent wouldn't get in any trouble with her superiors. Of course, he would _only _do such a thing to keep Scarlett out of trouble and Coulson off of his ass. Once S.H.I.E.L.D. really started dipping their fingers in the ink it'd be a mess of paperwork and men in black suits.

As he opened the notebook to see if Scarlett had written any of her discoveries about MedCo down or anything concerning her ailing health, he heard a whimper from the bed. Turning his attention toward where Scarlett was once again tossing and turning, Tony felt guilty for going through her things. He knew he should crawl back in bed and comfort her but he felt that it was important to pry a little into his girlfriend's secrets. Still, he watched Scarlett to make sure she'd be okay. If she got sick in her sleep or started shouting he'd return to her and abandon her notebook.

What could've happened to Scarlett to burden her with such terrible nightmares, he wondered. Being practically a secret agent for a good chunk of her life had surely led her into some nasty situations, so he wasn't _entirely_ surprised that her past was catching up with her. But what was _so_ terrible and _so_ painful that she couldn't sleep without night terrors and mumbled about being in excruciating pain? He tried to think back on the times where she'd actually been honest with him when she'd stayed in his home. It had turned out that most of her stories had been the truth, rather than fabricated in order to gain his trust.

When she'd confessed to what had actually happened with MedCo, when she'd been hired by them under the guise of advancing medical technology and making it more readily available for underfunded countries, she'd mentioned something that led Tony to believe _that_ was what her nightmares were about. She'd said the only reason that she'd taken the job with MedCo that had been offered to her on multiple occasions had been because of Scott's urging. And Scott had urged her to take the job so that she would settle down and live a more normal life.

Tony caught himself glaring at the thought of her ex-boyfriend. Even the notion of him left a bitter taste in his mouth. He'd bet on his fortune that Scott had been up to something, how else would his life have been spared by MedCo when he'd been used as bait to keep Scarlett at bay? It suddenly struck Tony that Scott's hands might have been dirtier than he'd suspected on earlier occasions. Addressing his phone again, he sent a message to Pepper asking her to have Jarvis run a background check for information on Scott Aaronson in conjunction with Scarlett Damien.

Continuing on his thoughts after setting down his phone next to Scarlett's, he sighed and recalled that Scarlett had mentioned once that something happened to her on a job that had caused her to reconsider her career choice. It had to have been something that really shook her in order for her to give up that lifestyle. Tony could tell how much Scarlett loved what she did and how damn good she was at it. Someone as stubborn as his lover wasn't going to quit without something earth shattering happening. He couldn't imagine what would have to happen to _him_ to have him give up what he loved.

Notebook in his hands, he stopped when he realized he knew _exactly_ what had happened to him that had made him change who he was. Being kidnapped in Afghanistan, tortured, and forced to build one of his missiles against his will had changed his entire life. Had something horrible happened to Scarlett on one of her jobs? Something horrific enough that she'd be willing to change everything about who she was so it wouldn't happen again? Tony suddenly understood why she was so afraid to let him help her. Every time she'd abandoned him in a hotel room half naked seemed like an act of protection rather than a stubborn decision by a woman bent on going it alone.

Tony turned his attention to the journal in his hands that turned out _not_ to be a journal at all but in actuality was a work book. There were no notes about MedCo inside but rather ideas, calculations and schematics that Scarlett had apparently been working on. Intrigued, Tony read through the first few pages, expecting to not need to see anymore once he'd read them. Instead, he found himself reading for a half an hour and eating up every page of what he'd found. Scarlett had apparently continued her research on prosthetics despite how MedCo had used the ideas she'd had to commit vile atrocities.

It was another attempt for her to try and redeem herself after what she'd done over the years. If she could create some good out of all the bad, then there would at least be more than her survival that made what she went through worth it. Tony knew from experience that surviving the experience didn't mean anything if she couldn't make her survival mean something greater for humanity. Scarlett's theories about prosthetics were astounding, it was no wonder she kept the journal so close to her. If she could pull off what she was planning then it would revolutionize the medical world

There were formulas and sketches for neural transmitters that were so sensitive and miniscule that they would possibly bind with the nervous system in the human body. The technology she was proposing was astounding and as Tony checked over her math and her theories, he really thought she was onto something. There were several pages of scribbled out and circled data that she'd gone over and rejected, but Tony had a feeling that if she kept going the way she was, she'd find the solution in no time.

It would mean that people receiving the prosthetic she'd developed would be able to move the limb the way they would move any of their current limbs. It was an amazing proposition. Technology had been recently emerging in the same field for neural transmitters connected to a wireless receiver within the limb that would be able to create a similar effect, but it required brain surgery and the science wasn't perfect and was incredibly expensive. Scarlett's ideas would eliminate the need for invasive brain surgery and bring the cost down significantly.

The physical therapy involved that Scarlett was describing was intense, like learning to use the limb all over again but it would be worth it for someone who had lost an arm or a leg to go through the therapy in order to continue living their life like nothing had ever happened to them. On top of the neural technology she'd been developing, it seemed as though she'd started work on synthetic fibers that would work, grow and weaken just as regular muscles would. She'd made a list of what else to look into, such as skin that would grow body hair the same way a person's would, realistic nails and bones that would function normally. The same notes that included the work on the fibers for the muscles proposed that she could use a similar material to synthesize veins and arteries that could be attached to the current arterial system in the human body and allow blood to flow normally.

The limb wouldn't have to be powered be a separate resource, but instead would be powered by the human heart, just like every other part of the body was. Tony was floored by the research that he'd found in the notebook. He'd been expecting her theories on what MedCo was up to and instead had discovered the extent of his girlfriend's genius.

He partially wished she was awake so that he could tell her how much of a turn on it all was but something told him that she desperately needed the sleep and most likely wouldn't appreciate him going through her things while she was unconscious. In between some of the notes for the fibers that would create the muscles for the prosthetic limbs, there were a series of pages filled to the brim with notes about another use for a fiber she'd created.

One of the formulas she'd rejected for the muscular structure had developed into a type of flexible, comfortable, light weight body armor that could potentially replace Kevlar on the battlefield. Tony closed the notebook that was making his head spin. He'd forgotten that Scarlett was as brilliant as she was! When they'd first met she'd solved his problem with the energy converter he had halted work on when he'd left California. Since then he hadn't had much of an opportunity to really see her putting her intelligence to good use outside of combat.

It wasn't that she didn't _act_ smart but rather that when Tony was with her, he really wasn't thinking about the strength of her brain or her sizable IQ. A playful smirk rose on Tony's lips and he became completely distracted by what had drawn him to Scarlett in the first place, other than her telling him no and calling him a selfish chauvinist pig upon their first meeting.

Tony's phone started buzzing loudly against the table, so loudly that it made Tony jump nearly right out of his chair. He desperately reached for the phone and ended up dropping it on the floor. Wincing at the loud crash he hurriedly picked up the phone and answered it in a hushed tone.

"Hello?" Hurrying, Tony scurried into the bathroom so that he wouldn't wake Scarlett up while on the phone. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"No, I don't because I have no idea where you are anymore. Last night you were in South Africa, now you're _where?_" Pepper's shrill voice called from the other end of the phone. She sounded tired and given the time difference, Tony guessed she was heading for bed soon enough.

"Senegal, keep up. I text you my itinerary don't I?"

"What is this about a Scott Aaronson? And why didn't you answer _any_ of the questions I had about New York when you responded?"

"If you could just look him up or have Jarvis do it, then that would be great."

"Sometimes it's like I'm asking these questions because it's _fun_ for me. There's some sort of communication error happening here because my free time is _not_ spent asking pointless questions." Pepper continued on about her earlier text messages. "There are only three thousand decisions still to make about this tower in Manhattan and since you changed almost all the plans we'd had, I can't do it myself."

"Why not? You're so good at this." Tony poked his head out of the bathroom and stole a glance of Scarlett to make sure that she was still sleeping fitfully. Pepper's sigh could be heard over the phone "I do have a few additions I need you to make though."

"More, Tony? You realize at some point you're not going to be able to keep changing things around, right?"

"It's not about the construction area that's all going to stay the same. It's about the equipment I wanted you to put into the secondary lab." Tony smirked. It was perfect timing for Pepper to call, despite how he'd complained. When Scarlett finally calmed down and he convinced her to come home with him then she'd have a laboratory waiting filled with everything she'd need to continue her research. He could already hear her telling him it was too much and she wouldn't accept it, in his head, but he'd already come up with a hundred different ways to convince her.

"Thank god, because I'm pretty sure the architect started taking anti anxiety medication because of you."

"I think you mean the contractor, did. The architect thinks I'm charming and handsome and she's right." Tony corrected. "Don't roll your eyes at me."

"We're not on video chat." Pepper laughed under her breath.  
"I can _hear_ you rolling your eyes at me. It's a very distinct sound."

"What is it you want me to put in this secondary lab? You might as well call it Scarlett's and stop trying to hide it from me, by the way. I know what you're trying to do." Tony didn't respond to Pepper that time, surprised that his assistant had caught onto his plot so quickly. Once he realized that she was waiting him out, he continued.

"I'm that transparent, am I?"

"If I look at all the changes you've made to our old plans for this place in the last few weeks then it sticks out sort of like a sore thumb."

"Hey, I worked really hard to not make it that obvious." Tony leaned against the counter in the bathroom and ran his hands through his messy hair.

"I've known you for years, Tony. You'll have to try a little harder to surprise me." Pepper was obviously smiling now. "I think it's pretty cute. You're preparing your nest."

"Stop it, I'm not cute. And I'm not nesting, what is this, Animal Planet now?"

"You've fallen in _love_." Pepper teased.

"Enough, stop it. I don't like this. I'm not a _puppy_, I'm not cute. And I'm not a bird, so I'm not nesting! And make up your mind! Am I bird or a puppy in your eyes? Either way you're wrong." Tony pouted, adjusting uncomfortably and instead leaning against the doorway.

"What is it you want me to add to the lab, before I hang up on you?"

"I'll send you the list of what I'll need added after we're off the phone." Tony yawned, covering his mouth. "I could tell you now but you'll forget or have questions and I'll end up making a list for you anyway. Let's just cut out the whole middle part." He was exhausted, but wasn't sure he'd be able to get back to sleep after what he'd discovered and what he'd considered. There were sounds in the other room, thrashing, and pained cries. Tony hoped Scarlett hadn't fallen off the bed while tossing and turning. "Look, I've got to go."

"I'm not done making fun of you yet." Pepper laughed.

"No, I've _really_ got to go. Just text me your insults or something and I'll continue to ignore them." Pepper could hear the seriousness in her boss' voice and decided to stop giving him a hard time.

"Alright, get some sleep." Pepper continued with her goodbyes but Tony had already disconnected the call and had placed his phone down on the table next to the contents of Scarlett's bag. Cursing as he realized he hadn't cleaned up after himself, he quickly shoved Scarlett's things back into her bag and hoped that she wouldn't noticed he'd rifled through them.

He would make the world's worst secret agent, there was nothing stealthy about Tony Stark.

Turning his attention back to Scarlett on the bed, he saw her curled up and looking pained. Climbing back underneath the sheets, Tony pulled the covers up higher around her and pulled her close so that her head was resting once again against his chest. Closing his eyes he rested his lips on top of her head and gave her a kiss while slowly caressing his hands over her back in attempts to sooth her. Her whole body was shaking from head to toe and whatever hell she was experiencing in her head was only getting worse.

"It's okay," He whispered, though he was sure Scarlett currently couldn't hear him while she slept. Her body seemed to relax just enough against his to make him feel like he'd made a small difference, but not enough to make him feel any less concerned by the nightmares she'd been plagued by. Tony had half a mind to wake her up so she wouldn't have to experience anymore of the torture of her subconscious, but selfishly he didn't _want_ to wake her up.

If he woke her up, then it was likely she would want to be on her way and all Tony wanted to do was take a step back and lay with her in his arms while they talked about what had happened the night before. He dreamt of ordering room service, enjoying breakfast and coffee together and planning where they'd head next _together_. But somehow Tony knew that Scarlett wasn't yet ready for that. She was almost there after the night they'd shared together, but it would still be a little while before she was okay enough to team up with him.

Seeing her in such misery had helped him understand what she was going through when it came to her leaving him in various places and wanting to keep him out of what was happening with MedCo. He knew now that she'd come around and eventually let him help her but only after she was actually okay with it and did so on her own terms.

As tired as Tony was, Scarlett's tremors and soft sounds of upset as she laid against him would keep him up the whole night with worry. If she asked why he hadn't slept, he wouldn't tell her the truth. That was too out of the ordinary for him to admit. Besides, if Pepper found out he was scared that Scarlett was going through some terrible post traumatic stress disorder, he'd only be further teased about how he'd become cute and cuddly like a puppy or a teddy bear.

He couldn't help but smile as he considered that maybe he _had_ softened up a bit thanks to Scarlett. The thought didn't bother him so much when he sat and really considered it. Was it so wrong for him to learn to be sweet and affectionate? He didn't think so. It would only be another weapon in his already incredibly arsenal of charm, or at least that's what he had decided upon.

When Scarlett grabbed onto him Tony nearly jumped in surprise. Her arms slipped around him tightly and she muttered his name with such sorrow in her voice that Tony's heart stung.

It was then he considered that maybe she _wasn't_ dreaming about what had happened to her at all.

Maybe she was dreaming about what would happen to _him_.


	9. The Morning After

The heavy grogginess of sleep had managed to defeat Scarlett on multiple occasions that morning and forced her to rest much longer than she would have liked. Opening her eyes at long last, it took approximately three minutes for the world around her to stop spinning and for her vision to focus. Every part of her body was chilled despite being covered up with every blanket available on the bed. Her eyes burned as though she hadn't gotten any rest at all, despite being sure that she'd gotten more than a solid eight hours.

Each time she'd closed her eyes and had gone back to sleep through the night she'd suffered some kind of horrid nightmare. Thankfully she couldn't recall the details of what had occurred in them, and as she drifted further from the edges of sleep they were lost entirely from her memory. Lifting her head so she could examine the hotel room she hadn't cared so much about the night before, Scarlett gave up when she felt a throbbing pain surge through the back of her neck and up through her head finally settling just behind her eyes and blurring her vision worse than it had been when she'd first woken up.

Closing her eyes again, she grimaced and considered that maybe it was time to see a doctor about the nasty symptoms that had only gotten worse over time. After she'd reached her next destination she would see who she could get in touch with on the matter. If she was going to seek medical help it would have to be done while she was on the move.

MedCo wasn't going to wait for her to catch up to them just because she had come down with some kind of fever. But then again, if she kept letting it get her down then it was going to leave her even _more _vulnerable to them. Tony had been right about many things when they'd argued on the balcony the night before and that had been one of them.

The people who ran the company were after _her_ and she had to stop acting like she was stalking them silently in the night without risk. Seemingly, the two remaining leaders of the corporation knew her every move and were always somehow one step ahead. The only thing that was stopping Mikhail and Marcia from taking her was sheer luck at that point. Pulling the blankets up higher around her in attempts to warm up, Scarlett did her best not to noticeably shift in the bed. As much as she loved Tony she wasn't yet ready to deal with him until her head had stopped pounding. If he saw she was suffering then he wouldn't let her do what she knew she needed to do. Boyfriend Tony Stark was both cute _and_ frustrating in his own special and unique way.

Still, lying naked in bed after what wonderful things she'd succumbed to the night before, probably wasn't the _best_ way to tackle her spiking fever. How weak had her willpower become to simply give in the way she had to him? Then again, she barely considered it giving in anymore. It was more like she was finally doing what she _wanted_ to do. Her heart had no resistance left against Tony Stark and her mind was starting to catch up with it. War was being waged in her head between her selfish want for love, happiness and a normal life and her moral compass guiding her to prevent further pain for anyone caused by MedCo. Hell if she knew who was going to win that battle. She considered asking Tony to travel _with_ her rather than running off as she had initially planned to do.

Scarlett was tired of being alone, especially when she didn't have to be. As she stared at the door, she wondered what it would be like to wake up in someone's arms and not have to stress about where she would go next or if she would make it through the day without being attacked.

But fear immediately objected to the thought of asking Tony to join her and brought a thousand new questions racing into her mind. What if he got hurt following her around? Maybe he wouldn't _want_ to travel with her? Would he stop her from investigating places he didn't deem safe like he'd done the night before _if_ he came with her? Could MedCo take him to use against her like they'd done with Scott?

And then there was Scott.

Why _hadn't_ Scott been chased down the way that she had after she'd escaped? Was it because unlike her _he_ was useless to them? Either way, it didn't seem fair to her that she had to suffer when the only reason she'd gotten involved with MedCo in the first place had been at Scott's urging. Not willing to deal with what her subconscious was trying to tell her about her ex-boyfriend, Scarlett ignored it. Scott wasn't around or involved anymore and thinking about the role he might have played in MedCo's dirty dealings would do nothing but stress her out further. Her pounding head reminded her that she had more than enough to stress without that. First she'd thought Tony had been behind it, but she was slowly coming to the realization that no one else was to blame for her involvement with MedCo.

Chancing opening her eyes again, Scarlett found that her vision focused normally and the pounding in her head had ceased to a dull roar rather than the scream of a banshee. That was definitely the kind of headache she could deal with. Sitting up slowly and making a point to hold the blankets over her chest since she knew a snide remark would come from Tony if she flashed him first thing after waking, Scarlett found it incredibly difficult to move. It wasn't because of the fever she likely had or the once crippling headache. Not at all.

Her left wrist was handcuffed to the railing of the wooden bed above her head with the same handcuffs she'd used to imprison Tony days before in Cairo. Scarlett actually laughed when she saw what he had done. At least it made sense why her hand felt numb now and it wasn't some new confusing symptom of the illness she was suffering. Pushing her hair out of her face as it fell into her eyes she couldn't help but smile when she found Tony sitting at the far end of the room at a large and modern looking black desk, sipping a cup of coffee and holding a newspaper in his other hand.

"Good morning Scarlett, or should I say good afternoon? It's two o'clock Miss Damien! I know I rocked your world last night, but _come_ on… We only did it the one time. It should be at least round three before you need a good twelve hour nap to catch up." Tony didn't look away from his newspaper, but the smile on his face let Scarlett know just how pleased he was with himself. It'd been an afterthought of his to handcuff her to the bed and really just an attempt to slow her down more than anything.

Sleep had been an elusive thing for him throughout the night but he'd been more than happy to let Scarlett catch up on what she'd needed despite how he was now teasing her about what time it was. When she hadn't gotten up before noon, Tony had become concerned. He'd set the Jarvis function on his phone on speaker and rested it on the nightstand so that he could keep an eye on her vitals. If they went off, even just a little, into a dangerous zone Tony would be able to jump into action. Her fever had gone up considerably in the last few hours but was still low enough that Tony wasn't ready to rush her to a hospital.

At first he'd spent a few hours holding her and comforting her. But at eight in the morning when Scarlett had _finally_ stopped tossing and turning and had instead laid feverish beneath the covers but otherwise seemingly peaceful, he'd become bored of lying around and had even considered waking up Scarlett so he'd have some entertainment.

Unfortunately he knew waking her up would actually make their parting happen sooner, so he left her sleeping and instead had sat on a conference call with some people from his company who were working on some projects that had been picked up from a smaller company that Stark Industries had recently purchased before Tony had started chasing Scarlett. It was a common thing for the company to absorb smaller ones particularly after he'd started reaching out to companies with great ideas but without the proper funding to really get going. The Stark Expo, a world's fair for the engineering and science world, had brought to light the great minds of the world and now Tony was reaching out to them in order to make advancements in the world of technology that might not have otherwise happened.

After that he'd spent time looking at schematics of the products from those companies and then enhanced them and sent them off to the team in Malibu that would produce and test them for the next phase of development. Then, still bored, he'd finally answered the questions that Pepper had for him from the night before about the house in Manhattan that was really turning into more of a skyscraper that would have his name across the top of it. It wasn't _only_ a home for him but also would be his place of work and where he would work on the designs for his Iron Man weapon. A town in upstate New York had recently agreed to be part of a trial run for the energy conversion process that Tony and Scarlett had been working on.

He'd only recently finished speaking with the interior design team about what he was thinking for various areas of the building when he'd noticed Scarlett stirring beneath the comforter. Stopping what he was doing on his phone, he had watched her to see what she would do next with baited breath. She'd done this several times over the past few hours but had returned to sleep only seconds later. If nothing else, at least Pepper would stop annoying him for a few days to keep up with his business while he was otherwise occupied.

"I bet I'd last longer than you would." Scarlett leaned her head back comfortably on the pillows. The aroma from Tony's coffee filled her senses and her stomach rumbled for food and coffee, as well. Leaning her head to the side she smiled when she realized that Tony had actually ordered her a cup of coffee from room service and it was resting on the nightstand. She guessed that he had no idea how to work a coffee maker on his own thanks to years of having someone else get it for him, so she knew that he hadn't been the one to make it. Still, the notion was sweet.

"Oh, _do_ you? I'll gladly take this bet. Even if I lose I win! What are the stakes, hmm?" Tony considered, folding up his newspaper and wondering what he could have her do for him if he won such a tantalizing bet. It would be silly to ask for _more_ sex even though it was what came to his mind. "I have a few things in mind for if_ I_ win. But give me time, and I'll have even more."

"Let me out of these handcuffs and we'll find out just what the stakes are." Scarlett pursed her lips, having no intention of crawling back into bed with Tony like she had the night before. It wasn't that she didn't _want_ to because the bet honestly _had_ intrigued her. Unfortunately she was sure she was too sick to actually win the wager she was making. She'd be lucky if she made it through one go with him nonetheless to see who had had the higher stamina. That'd likely take all day.

"Oh no, see…" Tony got up from his seat and started to walk around the room, fixing things with his back turned to his girlfriend for dramatic effect. "You outwitted me when we were in Cairo but I won't let you do that again, at least not so easily. This is vengeance of sorts. I repaired those handcuffs, seeing as I had to break them to get out after you locked them to the bed. Very kinky and all but the next time you want to see me in a pair of handcuffs, you better be wearing a leather corset, five inch heels and have a riding crop in your right hand."

Scarlett laughed and reached for the cup of coffee after she'd managed to maneuver herself into a sitting position despite being in handcuffs. Next to the coffee was a receipt from room service along with a ballpoint pen they'd provided for signing purposes and Tony hadn't bothered to return. She watched him with amusement as he continued on and on about the handcuffs. Something had changed while she'd slept and she was grateful for the reprieve.

Considering again asking him if he'd like to travel with her so that they could actually spent time together, Scarlett threw the idea out the window but for different reasons this time. He'd handcuffed her to the bed and was now teasing her about such things. She had to break out of them and escape on principle. But things _would_ be different, she promised herself that. Head still pounding, Scarlett set down her cup of coffee after enjoying a long drink of it. Much to her surprise, Tony _had_ remembered just how she liked hers mixed: with skim milk and a teaspoon of sugar.

"As much as I would like for us to continue experimenting with these particular handcuffs, I've done this for a completely non-sexual reason if you'd believe that. I know it's really hard to understand that I've done something kinky and don't expect sex, but it's the truth." Tony glanced at her again, pleased to see the happiness on her face, even if her eyes were dull and hazy like she didn't feel well. Turning away from her and looking out the window he took a sip of his coffee. "Though you _are_ naked and I have thought about it pretty much every second since I handcuffed you while you slept, there are far more important things at hand."

"I think I'd actually be disappointed if you weren't thinking about it." Scarlett responded, reaching for the pen on the nightstand. She bit the end tip of it and pulled the tube of ink from the inside of it free of the casing. Tossing the casing aside she twisted the tip of the pen apart and then fit it inside of the lock of the handcuffs.

"See, I _knew_ you liked me." Tony smirked, pleased with himself. "No, today I've got you handcuffed so that you'll actually _listen_ to me instead of the way you tend to ignore me and then just run off to god knows wherever. My slippery girlfriend, you make it very hard to share a bed with you some nights! You know that I'm going to follow you anyway, so I don't know why you bother running away."

Scarlett continued quietly twisting the pen inside the lock, until she had successfully maneuvered through the different stages of the lock. Finally it clicked open and she'd managed to pull the cuff free from her wrist and carefully set it down against the wooden headboard so it wouldn't make any noise and disturb Tony's speech. He was enjoying the sound of his own voice _far_ too much to notice that Scarlett was, in fact, escaping right under his nose.

"Girlfriend, huh? We have titles now do we?"

"Of course. Even if you deny it, that's what you are." Tony retorted. The term girlfriend was juvenile in his mind but there was no other word he could think to describe what they had going on between them.

"You need my help, even if you won't admit it. And think of how much simpler it would be if you could use my resources to hunt down MedCo! I know you said that you'd get caught that way but with our brilliance combined? I don't think so. I have technology that MedCo could only dream of without kidnapping people like you. We could catch up to them together and then take them down without having to chase each other around this damned desert continent. Speaking of which, I'm extremely tired of the desert. Let's go somewhere cold. Maybe Switzerland or Norway? They have some amazing hotels up there and I haven't been skiing in ages…" Tony rambled off topic before shaking his head and continuing on. Scarlett was right; he did tend to get distracted very easily.

Scarlett, on the other hand, was out of bed already after she'd made sure he was kept busy on the other end of the room. It had taken her a few minutes to gather her bearings because her head was aching worse than it had been when she'd been lying down but she was moving as quickly as she could without vomiting. The room kept spinning with every step she took but the more she stood up and walked about the easier it became for her to function. Spying around the room she searched for her clothing and other personal items and saw them all lying in a neat pile near the end of the bed. For someone who had a butler to clean up after him on a constant basis, Tony was pretty neat and cleanly.

"Anyway, I figure we'll head back to Malibu as soon as I can get the clearance for the jet to fly back that far and of course refuel. That's a _long_ flight… but my plane, you're going to _love_ my plane." Tony smirked and sighed contently before walking back to his desk and setting his coffee cup down. He picked up his laptop that was resting on the desk and glanced through the new messages and emails that had arrived while he'd been momentarily away from it. "Once there we can use Jarvis and the facility out in the desert where we'd created the new element and figure out exactly what MedCo is up to without having to leave the safety and comfort of home. No more of this getting our hands dirty nonsense."

Scarlett liked the sound of Tony's ideas but knew it wasn't feasible. When she'd hacked into Jarvis' security she'd found his research on MedCo. Even with his unlimited technological resources he hadn't been able to find anything about the company other than the location of the facility in South Africa and even then that had been a bust. If she went back to Malibu and did things his way, then she'd hit another dead end.

Worse than that, she'd still be on the run from the vile company. As long as MedCo was still around she would be hunted and she would continue to put Tony's life at risk. And not only Tony's life would be at risk in Malibu, but Happy's, Pepper's and any of his other friends who might show up at some point to try and help them or even just have dinner with them. As tempting as it was to go back to his home and relax in the life of luxury that only Tony Stark could afford, Scarlett knew that she had to stay on the battlefield until someone had won the fight. Slipping back into her clothing, Scarlett retrieved her phone and found the next flights available from Senegal to the Madrid-Barajas International Airport in Spain and then one to Istanbul Atatürk International Airport. She'd consider her options on the way out the door and decide on a course of action from there.

"I know you're worried about my safety, it's actually pretty _cute,_ which is a word I'm finding that I'm using way too often for my liking lately, I might add." Tony sat back down in the desk chair and opened the paper again, nonchalantly sipping at his coffee before setting the cup down entirely. "But I'm Iron Man, babe. You can't keep worrying about me like this or you're going to be worried all the time and that will give you wrinkles. I've got my enemies and you've got yours and there's no reason that you and I can't figure out a way to work together without having to panic every time one of us is in danger. Danger is going to be a big part of this relationship." Scarlett actually stopped to listen to Tony when he spoke about danger specifically.

It was true. If their relationship was going to work, then Scarlett would have to embrace the fact that Tony, was in fact, one of the most hated _and_ sought after men on the planet. No matter what she did there would be someone after him and she wouldn't always be able to protect him. Confusion raced through her thoughts as she considered that Tony might be in danger from MedCo no matter what she did. He was already affiliated with them in a very real sense. The crates that she'd found filled with Stark Industries supplies and weapons when she'd been working for MedCo had meant that someone was keeping an eye on Tony and what he was up to just as much as they were keeping an eye on what she was doing.

Still, it was something they could talk about once he'd caught up with her or after she'd put two bullets in Marcia and Mikhail's heads. Placing her bag over her shoulder once she was sure she had everything gathered, Scarlett walked quietly over to the nightstand and put the pen she'd half destroyed back together. On a pad of paper she wrote a note for Tony to read once he finally realized that she'd given him the slip, and mostly on principle this time. From her wallet she placed down a few fifties to give him for the hotel and placed it underneath the note.

'_Sir Talks-Too-Much,_

_ While you were enjoying the sound of your own voice, I had to try and make up for the time that I lost while I slept in. I'll see you when you catch up to me but this time I'm not getting my own hotel, so I hope you book somewhere nice. Fly safe and thanks for the coffee._

_ PS I'm still holding you to that bet. And don't call me babe, I'm not a piglet.'_

Scarlett didn't bother signing the note since it was obvious it was from her. Instead she glanced at her reflection in the glass of the picture hanging over the nightstand and fixed her hair. Slipping red lipstick out of her bag she applied it carefully and then picked up the note and gave it a kiss near the bottom. Even if she was still running out the door, this time it felt different. She wanted him to follow her and she was inviting him to stay with her. If that wasn't progress, Scarlett wasn't sure what was.

Watching Tony as he took another drink of his coffee, Scarlett hesitated to leave and pouted slightly as she considered staying behind. When this MedCo nonsense was over, she wanted to do nothing but spend a week in bed with Tony, starting their relationship off on the right foot. Without turning back to take a second glance at her lover, Scarlett walked out of the hotel room, silently closing the door behind her. Guilt still churned in the pit of her stomach despite how she knew that she wasn't abandoning him the same way that she had before.

"Oh, shut up." She muttered, glaring at her stomach as if it were somehow her body's fault that she was suffering from guilt. No matter what decision she made she somehow felt guilty. Maybe Scarlett was just going to have to adjust to feeling guilty for awhile until things somehow evened out.

"I know you've got to be tempted. Even if you just tell me where you want to go next we can work together and do this as a team rather than on our own. Why don't we just take today, hmm? You're obviously not feeling well. If you're not better by tomorrow we should get you to a doctor anyway. You can argue with me all you like, Scarlett, but you're sick. You had nightmares all night long last night! I can't watch you suffer like that any longer…" Tony drifted off as he _finally_ turned his attention back to where Scarlett was handcuffed to the bed.

Or at least to where Scarlett had once been handcuffed to the bed considering she was definitely no longer seated there. The handcuffs were hanging from the railing, neatly closed. Scarlett's things were gone from the pile he'd placed them in the night before. Tony sighed and then scratched his head, wondering how long he'd been talking to himself or if she'd actually heard _anything_ that he'd said.

Walking lazily over to the bed, Tony picked up his cell phone that he'd placed on the opposite nightstand to monitor Scarlett and turned off the Jarvis function for the time being. Sitting down next to where Scarlett had once laid, he rested his head on the pillow closest to him and inhaled deeply. Was it creepy for him to be enjoying the smell of her from the night before? It probably was but he didn't care.

"How the hell did she get out of those so quickly?" Tony poked the handcuffs that had seemingly not been damaged in any way shape or form. He knew she didn't have bobby pins in her hair and she'd been naked, that he was sure of, so it wasn't like she'd had anything in her pockets to aid her in escape. He was torn between being amused and sad that she was gone. Thankfully he was easily distracted and instead concentrated on just what had occurred in her past to make her so skilled at escaping handcuffs and of course, all of these thoughts were kinky in some form or another.

Then Tony noticed the note with the money hiding underneath it and picked both things up. When she'd had the chance she'd insisted upon helping him pay for the hotels and meals that they'd shared even though Tony was always more than happy to cover the bill. It made his heart flutter in the strangest way. There he was, once the most eligible bachelor on the planet, a billionaire at that, and his practically-a-spy girlfriend was trying to take the check from him. He smiled fondly. It was a very weird turn on.

Reading over the note he actually laughed and felt much better about Scarlett leaving than he had before. If nothing else, she'd accepted that they'd be together again soon and had stopped asking him to go home without her. As much as he preferred to have her traveling with him this was a good alternative. Maybe if he hadn't insisted upon handcuffing her to the bed and teaching her some misguided lesson about revenge, then she would've traveled with him. Either way, he knew that he'd find her and they'd be sharing a hotel room probably by the time the next morning rolled around.

"How the hell?" Tony laughed again as he tugged at the handcuffs. Was there a trick to the lock that he hadn't been able to find? Either way, Scarlett had bested him again but this time, it was amusing if nothing else. Turning his phone on once again he spoke to the Jarvis application installed on it.

"Trace her phone and find out where she's headed next, Jarvis." Tony yawned and leaned against the pillows, surrounding himself in the scent of the woman he'd spent the night before with. "She'll be expecting something nice, I assume so let's go ahead and locate her and book the nicest hotel you can find under my current alias, okay?"

"Yes, sir. Champagne and strawberries waiting for you as well?"

"Not for my arrival but make room service aware that I'll be expecting them to answer to my every whim." Tony smirked and got up from the bed then started about gathering his things. There was little point in rushing around until he knew where exactly Scarlett would be going so that he could make arrangements for his jet to do the same.

Scarlett rushed to the stairwell and hurried down a few flights of stairs before she was winded and out of breath. Usually she'd manage the entire set of stairs before having to rest, but the constriction in her chest from illness was too much and she decided it was worth the risk of Tony catching up for her to keep from passing out in the middle of a flight of stairs. That was the last thing she needed. Once out of the hotel and on the streets of Senegal, Scarlett caught a ride to the inn that she'd booked by the airport so she could retrieve her rigged luggage and then head to her next destination.

The problem after that was she was unsure if she should head to Turkey or to Spain. Logically, she thought that heading to Turkey would make sense. It had been the second set of coordinates on the list and if she didn't head there next then it was likely by the time she got there after she was done in Madrid then whatever facility was located near Istanbul would likely already be gone like the one in Senegal had been. There had been a brief period of time where she'd considered heading back to the abandoned town where they'd been surrounded by robots the night before.

But on the ride to her hotel Scarlett had decided that Tony had been right about one thing. There was nothing at that place that was worth risking her life further. He'd been absolutely right to drag her out of there forcefully while they'd had the opportunity to escape. If she had lingered any longer then they would've been pursued by the robots and likely outmanned and quickly at that. Why she'd ever considered staying behind she wasn't sure. Perhaps it was sheer stubbornness that had made the decision seem like a good one at the time.

It was more likely that she was just frustrated after not having found anything and having wasted over a day chasing ghosts. Once at her hotel, Scarlett retrieved her bag after disarming the shocking mechanism that she'd developed and then checked out at the front desk. Walking the short distance from the hotel to the airport, she considered her options again. It was a tough decision but she was leaning toward Madrid for more than one reason.

Years prior on a job she'd taken in Turkey she'd been hired by a man who had trusted only one other man, his brother. The man had been from Vietnam and had been running a shipping business from one country to the other. When he'd hired her to look into some mysterious financial disputes in his Istanbul facilities, he had insisted that his brother accompany her to keep her in line. Unfortunately, what had started out as a case of simple espionage and fraud had evolved into a complex and dangerous situation involving a drug smuggling ring. The situation had elevated to violence and quickly.

Her employer's brother had been shot in the crossfire and neither had ever forgiven her for not being able to protect him. She'd always insisted upon working alone, but since the case had seemed simple she'd never considered the man would be in any danger of any kind. Seeing as she had a reputation as a thief on some occasions, she had understood her employer's worry and had taken his brother along on what was supposed to be an easy gig.

While she'd managed to wrap up the drug smuggling case and clean up the company the way that she'd been hired to, her employer had blamed _her_ for the paralysis his brother had suffered and had even requested she pay his hospital bills. Scarlett had done so, because it was simpler than disputing the claim. Her employer had been the kind of man who would've gone to legal means in order to hold her accountable for the debt, so it had been in her best interest to simply pay him off.

Unfortunately, now whenever she went to Turkey she had to keep her eye out for her employer _and_ for the men who had once been a part of the drug smuggling ring that she'd driven out of the manufacturer's business. It was all very messy and complicated and the last thing Scarlett needed was another case from her past creeping up and biting her in the ass. She was already having nightmares about Afghanistan. It would be too much to take on a third debacle from her sordid history.

Scarlett's sins had to stop catching up with her so quickly.

Deciding that it would be in her mortality's best interest to avoid Turkey, she walked into the airport and purchased a seat on the next flight to Madrid. Maybe MedCo would expect her to go to Turkey after having seen her show in Istanbul considering it was the second facility in line. If she could go to the facility in Madrid, even if it meant forfeiting ever seeing the one outside of Istanbul, then she had more chances at gathering information than she ever would have had in Turkey.

Stopping in one of the convenience stores in the airport, she purchased a bottle of water which she proceeded to mix into the eucalyptus tea she'd purchased the day before at the markets. Maybe she'd get the chance to catch up on her health during the flight over instead of spending it vomiting like she had on the flight from South Africa.


	10. Human Test Subject

Parking her car about a mile outside of the town located at the coordinates she'd been given by her contact days prior, Scarlett maneuvered the driver's side seat backwards in the sedan she'd rented at the airport. After the traveling she'd done in the last week, she had grown weary of cabs and the constant running and walking to and from. Usually the physical exertion involved wouldn't bother her, but the cough that had once been an annoying tickle in the back of her throat had evolved and now felt like an ice cold grip of someone's fist on her lungs. Scarlett was theorizing that she'd contracted a cold and it had settled into her chest when she hadn't bothered to take care of it properly.

After landing Scarlett stopped by an airport convenience store where she'd purchased three bags of cough drops and since then had already made her way through half of the first bag. Untwisting the wrapper of another precious candy gem that would calm the aching cough in her lungs, Scarlett popped it into her mouth and considered her next move.

She'd driven around the perimeter of the town that was surrounded by friendly looking outer walls and was pleased, and relieved, to find that people were still living there. The buildings were old and worn, and it looked like those living there didn't have the proper funds to care for the buildings they possessed but still, it was an improvement in comparison to the last place she'd searched for clues. Even driving past, Scarlett could tell that something seemed off about the area even if she couldn't pinpoint what. It was weird to think but she wanted to say the place looked _sad_, like they knew something terrible was about to happen. Then again, Scarlett could've been expecting something nasty to happen. For all she knew, the strange things she'd noticed about the town could've very well been in her head.

A mixture of anger and curiosity boiled within the pit of her stomach. How could MedCo ruin so many lives for whatever experiments they were performing on the people living within these towns? In her experience, Scarlett had found that every villain had a story and someone they loved. Very few people outside of sociopaths were without remorse. What did that make Mikhail, Marcia, and Erick? The ends almost _never_ justified the means in morally reprehensible situations, it was simply what villains told themselves so they could sleep at night.

The greater good was a delusion.

Deciding the only way to get to the bottom of what was _really_ going on was to do some digging Scarlett, got out of the car at last. She had checked to make sure that she had her gun and extra ammunition hidden away beneath her coat. Today she'd dressed more casually so she would look less like a cat burglar and blend easier into the crowd in Spain. Donning a lightweight tan colored jacket, comfortable pale blue shirt and pencil skirt, Scarlett had made sure she'd had enough room beneath her jacket to hide her weapon and everything else she required. As always, she carried her bag around with her but wanted to make sure there was nothing worth losing in the bag outside of her notebook. The Tesla glove was a bit more difficult to hide, but she hoped that no one would get a good enough look at her to notice and ask about it. After all, it wasn't like she was going into someone's home to have dinner or anything.

Making sure the rest of her supplies such as her phone, her knife and her cough drops, were stowed away in her backpack, Scarlett left her car behind in the parking lot of a restaurant in the next town over. If she needed to make a quick getaway, at least now she'd have more options available to her than walking or calling a cab. Hopefully Tony wouldn't catch up to her until much later so she wouldn't have to worry about him drawing attention to her. Maybe if she got lucky she could even meet up with him for a late dinner and drinks. In the span of things, it sounded like a pretty relaxing night.

Fantasizing about dinner and dessert with Tony, Scarlett checked her phone periodically until she'd arrived at the marked location then slowed her walk drastically. The buildings were in far worse states of repair than she had guessed upon initial inspection along the drive there. Windows were boarded over and roofs were covered in tarps in some areas. What was worse than that was that the people walking around the streets seemed ill and unfriendly.

People were rushing around with their mouths covered by surgical masks and those who weren't hiding their faces looked panicked and frightened. Not a one of them looked comfortable with being outdoors. Fiddling with the screen of her phone, Scarlett pretended to be sending several text messages as a tourist would do, but was in actuality taking pictures of the people scattered around the streets or rushing to their next destination. In a document on the screen she was jotting down symptoms that she could catch as they walked past her. Many were coughing, looked gaunt and had discolored flesh.

Finally putting away her phone once she was sure she'd gathered sufficient research material, Scarlett was surprised when someone bumped into her and practically panicked in response. Without so much as an apology, even in Spanish, the man who had bumped into her gathered his things and ran the other way, his hand over his mouth. Scarlett watched him go with wide eyes before turning around in a circle, searching for something that he might have been running from but saw nothing that would send him into such a tizzy, other than her.

"What the hell is going on here?" Running her fingers through her hair, Scarlett pulled it away from her face and twisted it back into a bun, stabbing a hair stick through it to keep it out of her face. Deciding that walking around aimlessly would get her no answers, Scarlett kept an eye out for anyone that didn't immediately avoid eye contact with her. After stopping several people in a rush to get somewhere and asking them what was going on and being rejected all three times, Scarlett leaned tiredly against the stone patio of someone's home and sighed heavily. Her body was weary from travel.

"Young lady you should not be out and about at this hour." An older woman's voice coming from the top of the steps startled Scarlett. Turning around and pulling away from where she leaned against the patio apologetically, she smiled weakly. The woman's Spanish accent was thick but her English was confident and strong beneath it.

"Why not?" Finally someone who wasn't going to bite her head off or look at her like she had three heads when she spoke to them. Scarlett considered the hour and knew it was getting late, but it was still early enough for the streets to be busy with after dinner traffic.

"Haven't you been listening to the news?" The woman acknowledged her radio at the far end of the patio; an old fashioned looking brown radio was plugged in through the window, decorated in ornate but chipping gold details.

"I'm afraid that I've just arrived in town tonight and haven't heard anything. I was hoping someone would tell me what all this chaos is about. Everyone seems in a right state of panic and won't even give the time of day." Scarlett slipped seamlessly into a British accent to keep from later identification if anyone, like MedCo, happened to realize she was in town. No one was looking for a Brit and while Scarlett _had_ been born and raised in London, she'd lost the accent long ago while learning to speak Afrikaans and only very few people actually realized her true origins. While it was no longer natural for her to speak with the accent, it was second nature for her to slip back into it particularly when around other Brits.

"Come sit." The woman patted the seat next to her at the far end of the porch. Walking up the stone steps, Scarlett nodded her head and sat across the table from the woman with long black hair pulled back into a loose bun, strands of peppery gray intermingled within. She wore a long red shawl around her shoulders and despite looking well into her eighties, the woman seemed lively and vibrant. Thankfully whatever illness that had been affecting her neighbors hadn't yet reached her.

"Thank you." Scarlett smiled politely, popping another cough drop into her mouth now that the one she'd started had disintegrated. In a few short hours she'd become addicted to Ricola.

"You're welcome." The old woman smiled feebly and watched as another man hurried past her porch while avoiding eye contact. Scarlett guessed she was waiting for someone to arrive home, judging by the worry hidden on her face.

"Now what is it you were saying? What haven't I heard about on the news? Is something happening? Should I not be here?" Scarlett leaned back in her chair, watching the people passing by and observing any new symptoms they exhibited. The most troublesome thing she witnessed was the panic and fear spread throughout the town. What had happened to these people to put them in such a state?

"There's a terrible flu going around, deary." The woman smiled kindly but concern was thick in the wrinkles next to her eyes. "They're declaring a state of emergency in the area and are recommending everyone receive a vaccine. Only this vaccine is near impossible to get your hands on since everyone's rushing around looking for it. People are so scared they're contracting the same illness that they're acting like animals."

"A _flu?_ Is that what everyone's got? I've noticed that many people here are looking rather green around the gills." Scarlett scowled at a woman who walked by coughing up a lung and not bothering to cover her mouth.

"Yes, it's terrible. Several children are in the hospital because of it. I'm lucky I haven't gotten it myself but then again I'm rather stubborn!" The woman smiled proudly but then looked troubled once again. "I suggest that unless whatever you're in town for is an emergency that you leave before you catch it, too. Whatever it is you're up to is not worth your health." The woman didn't sound like she was threatening Scarlett, but rather sounded worried that the younger woman would fall into harm's way because of the epidemic in her home town.

"Hospitalized?" Scarlett considered her new information and ignored the illness brewing in her chest and reminding her that _she_ was sick as well. There'd be time to deal with her illness later, right now Scarlett had to get to the bottom of what was happening to the people there before they were struck by tragedy the way the town outside of Dakar had been.

"Dreadful, really." The older woman smiled but looked apologetic. "Thirty four and counting the news said, all under the age of eighteen."

"Has anyone died?" Scarlett had nearly asked if anyone had _yet_ but knew that to this stranger, it might sound too dark to assume that people were going to eventually drop like flies.

"If they have, then no one is telling us about it." The older woman's curiosity was piqued by Scarlett's questions but she didn't pry further into her motives. It seemed that this woman was just as suspicious about the truth portrayed by the media as Scarlett was.

"You should get inside. If this epidemic is as bad as you say then I can imagine they'll evacuate sooner or later and you should be prepared." Scarlett got up from her seat and peered around the neighborhood, memorizing her current location. While she had no proof of it Scarlett had the distinct feeling that MedCo was up to something terribly unsavory within the town. She wanted to check the local water sources and see if she could grab some samples or pinpoint areas where the supply could have been tampered with. What if the people of these towns were victims of horrible experiments?

It had happened before in the past. Governments and companies using unsuspecting people as guinea pigs then disguising it as an epidemic and offering them the cure to gain their trust; it sounded like something out of a horror story but it was an unfortunate harsh reality of the world. Fear was the greatest of motivators.

"Don't you worry about me, young lady." The woman chuckled kindly. "I've got luck on my side and I have for years. I'm more concerned about _you._"

"I'll be careful. If you don't mind, could you point me in the direction of the hospital?" Scarlett glanced around. It would be easier if she could get a helping hand in the strange place rather than walk around aimlessly for hours in search of something that would be far simpler to locate with assistance from a local.

"That's the belly of the beast, dear…" The woman stood up carefully and seemed apprehensive. She pushed her chair slowly out of the way and leaned to the windowsill where the plug for her old radio was laying over the old frame and plugged in somewhere inside. On the counter she must have had some surgical masks lying around. Scarlett wasn't sure why the woman had such a thing, but was grateful when it was offered to her. "I have the distinct feeling that you are a very determined woman. Whatever you are going to do I'm sure that I cannot talk you out of it. But this will help keep you healthy. If you need anything else, please feel free to ask. You are near the residential district currently but if you walk straight down this road for a quarter of a mile and make a right at the top of the hill you'll be able to see the business district. There are signs leading to the hospital from there." She nodded her head respectfully. "My name is Eva, by the way…"

"Luna." Scarlett held out her hand for the woman to shake then took the mask she was offered and stuffed it into her pocket.

"Lovely name." Eva seemed pleased by Scarlett's kindness then sat back down in her chair. "Please be careful."

"Trust me, there are very few more careful than I." Scarlett bowed her head graciously. "Thank you for your kindness."

"You're very welcome." Eva folded her hands in her lap and watched as Scarlett walked off of her porch and down the street. Reaching into one of her pockets once she was out of sight, Scarlett dug around for her wallet. Inside of it were several fake but official looking identification badges she'd purchased when she'd stopped in London a week prior. Scarlett needed to get into the hospital to see what sort of information she could derive from patient files. Hospitals were the most efficient manner of information storage, particularly when it came to something that MedCo likely didn't want to keep in writing.

People would report everything about their ailments to doctors and it would be kept in charts. Even if the information was in Spanish, Scarlett knew enough to get by and it would be worth the time spent translating. If MedCo employees hadn't yet begun to clean up the mess in that particular town, then it was possible the records there would remain untouched and Scarlett would have a chance at discovering the true origins of the illness afflicting the people there. Maybe it would even offer some insight into what had happened in Senegal.

It was easy to find the hospital once she located the residential district. The small local clinic was overly busy, swamped with people who were ill and looking for relief. Scarlett pulled the surgical mask over her face and freed her hair from the ornate stick she'd used to pull it back. Tussling it and adjusting her coat while holding one of her many fake IDs in hand she approached the nurse's station at the far end of the lobby.

"Excuse me." Scarlett waited to make sure the nurse comprehended her speaking English before she continued. Flashing her identification and kept her expression serious, she made direct eye contact with the nurse and spoke confidently and clearly. "I'm with the Ministry of Health. You contacted us about an outbreak of recent viral infections in this area and I'm here to take a look at your records so that I can offer government assistance if necessary." Scarlett put away her ID before the nurse could take it and give it a closer look but continued looking at her seriously. She found that if she always _looked_ like she was in a hurry, she somehow seemed more official.

For some reason government employees never had enough time to act leisurely.

"You came quickly." The nurse stood up from her desk, her accent far heavier and harder to understand than Eva's had been, but Scarlett had always been capable of adaptation and didn't flinch.

"We take the threat of an epidemic very seriously at the Ministry." Scarlett held her head up high and proud and her expression free of emotion. She had been lucky that the reports had been bad enough for the small hospital to ask for aid from their government. It would've taken far more creativity if she had been told that there hadn't been a pending request for assistance. Fortunately for her, situations that created panic in a small community almost always ended up with government involvement. It was part of what Scarlett saw as wrong with _every_ government. People got scared and relied too heavily on the government to save them.

But right now, Scarlett was grateful for the weak and fragile nature of humanity.

"What can we do for you? Where will you start?"

"I'll need to take a look at the records of patients exhibiting the same symptoms that you've reported. Skin discoloration, rashes, dry eyes, severe cough and chest congestion, amongst others, of course. Before we can take action there must be sufficient evidence of your claim." Scarlett could rattle off about fifteen additional symptoms just by taking a look around the emergency room's waiting area. It was easy for her to appear like she knew what she was doing. After all, half of her career had been spent preying on people's weaknesses and assumptions to weasel into their lives and fool them into giving her information she wouldn't usually be privy to. She hadn't realized how second nature it had become for her to take on another persona until she'd done so while in London.

After finally being Scarlett Damien for a few weeks with Tony, the transition into her old life had felt strange.

"Yes, of course. Right this way. Trust me, you will find more than what you are looking for." The woman yelled behind her in Spanish to one of the other nurse's asking to cover the front desk for her while she brought the government woman into the back. Scarlett followed through the door leading to the nurse's office and down a long hallway behind a series of large filing cabinets. Down the hallway and around the corner, Scarlett marked the emergency exits at the back of the path and a few easily accessible large windows if escape became necessary and she was discovered as a fraud. As long as she made her trip short and sweet it would be easy for her to remain unnoticed and keep suspicion under wraps.

Stopping in a room filled with files, Scarlett helped the nurse lift one of two very large and heavy boxes filled to the brim with folders that she assumed belonged to the afflicted. Afterward they walked back into the hallway and around another corner where Scarlett was allowed space in one of the empty offices so she could take a look through the records.

"This is all we have on all our patients exhibiting symptoms, minus those who haven't yet been admitted. The situation is very serious. We can use all the help and guidance you have for us." The nurse looked strained and ill herself. Scarlett wondered just how severe the situation had gotten and how much truth had been revealed to the public. In her experience with widespread illness, clinics didn't ask for government assistance until things had gotten beyond their control. Either someone had died or the count of people who were infected was off the charts.

"Thank you. I'm going to take a look and then report back to my superiors to see what we can help with and what course of action they'd like you to take. May I use your copy machine?" Scarlett nodded toward the large heavy duty Xerox machine in the corner of the office. It looked about a hundred years old, but Scarlett couldn't be picky. Tony had spoiled her with technology.

"Yes, please help yourself." The nurse smiled weakly. "I must return to my post. I'll be at the front if you need anything else." Without another word she turned on her heels and hurried back around the corner, leaving Scarlett alone. It was clear the nurses and doctors had far bigger things on their mind than a woman from the government wanting to look at patient files.

Sitting at the table, Scarlett started to browse through the files that were in chronological order rather than alphabetical order. Opening the oldest file, Scarlett checked the date. It was a month prior when the first case had been reported. Mid-June. They hadn't noticed a pattern then, but when they'd reviewed cases, they had discovered it had been the first at least that's what the notes at the back of the patient's chart had mentioned. Scarlett couldn't recall the exact date after having been held by MedCo but she knew that it meant whatever illness had been spread it had happened either right after she'd been saved from the facility by Tony or near the end when she'd been planning her escape.

The last month had been so abnormal and confusing that Scarlett was having a hard time keeping up with what time of the year it was. In the span of things, time didn't seem to matter other than she knew she was running out of it when it came to MedCo. Scanning the files from the first case, Scarlett saw that the patient had returned several times when antibiotics hadn't worked and had eventually been admitted. Continuing to read over the document she soon discovered that the patient was _still_ somewhere within the hospital and his symptoms hadn't gotten any better. In fact, they'd only become worse with him experiencing hair loss, memory alteration and vivid hallucinations. He could no longer eat on his own and was being kept alive with medication.

Closing the file folder, Scarlett considered what this meant. The epidemic had to be much worse than the media was letting on. It made sense that the public was nervous, but if they knew how bad it had _actually_ gotten then there would likely be mass attempts to flee the city and that would only make things much worse.

Continuing through the medical charts, Scarlett made separate piles in chronological order for those who had been admitted, those who had been sent home with medication and orders to follow up and finally a pile of deceased that hadn't been reported publically. Eva had specifically mentioned that no one had yet died, but there were at least twenty people who had passed away due to the illness in the last two weeks. Scarlett made copies of their paperwork along with others of interest.

The onset of the illnesses had been so sudden that Scarlett felt there _had_ to be some interference involved. Someone had been making those people sick. After she'd skimmed through the files and made a sufficient amount of copies, Scarlett placed them in a manila envelope and hid them within her bag. Once she'd put the original files back in their boxes, she left the room with the door closed and started back toward the front of the building.

Finding the nurse again, she thanked her for her cooperation and promised action soon enough. Since the hospital _had_ actually filed for assistance from the government, Scarlett didn't feel like she was promising false hope. Sooner or later the Ministry of Health would come to the hospital and evaluate the situation. Scarlett would try to keep an eye on it during her travels and push things along if she had to in order to make sure that the whole town wasn't wiped out by whatever horrible illness had been transmitted to the people living in the town.

Out into the busy streets once more, Scarlett's mind was rushing a mile a minute. Had MedCo made the people of the town sick as she suspected? Why hadn't the deaths caused by the illnesses been reported sooner? Was someone at the hospital trying to keep things under wraps? Had MedCo already sent someone to cover up what was really happening? What if someone had recognized her while she was there looking through files? Scarlett double checked her jacket for the holster of her gun beneath her arm and then sighed with relief. It was like having a security blanket with her. Between that and her Tesla glove she knew she could handle almost every situation that was thrown at her. It wouldn't be like what had happened in Senegal anyway.

MedCo wasn't consistently the most discreet company but if they were going through the trouble to slowly poison a whole town of people for some reason or another then it was likely that they weren't going to compromise their experiment just to get their hands on _her_. Scarlett wasn't expecting giant robots to come trailing after her, just men in black suits with tranquilizers and stun guns.

Scarlett was _really_ tired of stun guns.

Hurrying through the business district and back toward the rural area of the small bustling town, Scarlett recalled the home of the old woman and hoped that Eva wouldn't be opposed to helping her out one more time. She _had_ offered to be of assistance if Scarlett needed anything else and Scarlett definitely had more questions about what had occurred in the town. It would have been suspicious and caused a panic amongst the nurses for Scarlett to ask about supposed foul play.

The chairs on the porch were empty and the window that had once been open to allow the radio to be plugged in had been closed and the curtains drawn. Behind the curtains she could see the lights on inside and so she felt comfortable walking up the stairs and knocking on the front door.

Eva looked surprised to see her again but welcomed her inside regardless. Scarlett nodded her head with gratitude and looked around curiously.

"Please, make yourself comfortable." Eva acknowledged a series of plush chairs in the living room. "Let me get you some tea."

"No, thank you." Scarlett's voice was scratchy as she pulled the surgical mask away from her mouth so she could be clearly heard. Slipping another cough drop in her mouth, she smiled politely and looked around the woman's beautiful home, observing her exits, as always, if necessary.

Eva made herself busy in the kitchen regardless of Scarlett declining a cup of tea.

"What can I do for you, Luna?" Eva looked strained and tired. Scarlett hoped the woman wasn't coming down with what everyone else seemed to have. Paranoia would keep Scarlett from eating or drinking _anything_ in the town even tea offered by a kind elderly woman. When she was back in the safety of Madrid it would be another story.

"I know that this is going to sound peculiar particularly since I'm a complete stranger." Scarlett cleared her throat again, annoyed with her inability to get rid of the cling that was plaguing her. It was sad to think that she was adjusting to functioning like a normal human being while feeling under the weather. What other choice did she have?

The nagging voice in the back of her head reminded her that she _could_ have just gone home with Tony and seen a doctor. It would have been much easier for her to be lying in his plush bed in Malibu while Jarvis got her some warm soup. But no, she had to do the _right_ thing.

"Trust me, in all my years I have heard far more peculiar things than what you are about to ask me." Eva smiled kindly, pouring piping hot water into a mug so her tea could steep. Scarlett had the sudden urge to run over and knock the cup out of her hand. Maybe if she could tell Eva to get out of town then one life would be spared. Scarlett knew that wasn't feasible.

"I'd believe that." Smirking, Scarlett was sure that five minutes of her life story could change Eva's mind, but there was a purpose outside of that behind her visit. "I'm curious. About a month ago, did anything strange or new happen locally?"

"What do you mean?" Eva stirred her cup, looking confused, but also seeming to try and recall anything out of the ordinary.

"It could seem like the smallest and most insignificant thing. Maybe a new restaurant or business opened nearby. Perhaps there was some kind of large town wide event or maybe… there was a strange visitor that came to check the water meters. Anything like that…" Scarlett was fishing for evidence of tampering and for a place to begin her search. Any lead was better than no lead but it seemed to her that Eva was running on empty when it came to a response.

"A medical shipment factory opened nearby." A male voice from down the hall startled Scarlett. She'd guessed that someone else had lived in the home but hadn't realized they were actually present. A young man, obviously related to Eva, stepped into the light. He looked exhausted and Scarlett was guessing that he was her grandson and that he had likely returned recently from work. Eva had likely been waiting for him to return home when she was seated on her porch listening to her radio.

"Oh, I'm sorry Luna. This is my grandson Ruben. He just got home from work but I hadn't realized he was out of the shower yet so I didn't mention him. Ruben, this is my new friend Luna. She just got into town and is curious about the outbreak. I'm trying to convince her to leave before she catches something." Eva smiled wearily and then turned back to her tea cup, draining the leaves and removing them from the water.

"Why are you so curious about this?" Ruben walked into the room and sat down on one of the chairs nearby. He looked very serious and suspicious. Scarlett considered telling them the truth and warning them to leave. But it was likely these two kind people were already infected with whatever was plaguing the town. Telling them to leave would put the rest of the world at risk. As much as Scarlett wanted to, she couldn't let that happen either. The best she could do was try to put a stop to what MedCo was doing before the illness they'd created had spread throughout the town and killed every single inhabitant.

"I just have a bad feeling. Trust me, I'm trying to help. I'm aware you don't know me or have cause to trust me… but I'm trying to get to the bottom of what's going on here. I'm afraid I can't tell you much outside of that but I'm hoping it's enough to be worthy of your help." It was a risk being honest with them even if she was still withholding information, but Scarlett couldn't bring herself to lie to them.

That wasn't at _all_ like her. Scarlett had always been a capable liar. Why was it so much harder than it used to be? What was it now? She could only lie to people who didn't seem _nice?_ That seemed ridiculous.

It was a good thing she didn't plan on continuing to be a "secret agent" as Tony had dubbed her so many times. A secret agent who couldn't lie seemed like the plot for a new television show.

Eva had stopped stirring her tea and Ruben seemed to be considering what to do about the stranger in their living room. Scarlett wouldn't blame them for throwing her out or calling the police. Even if they did, she still had a lead. She just hoped that they wouldn't call the authorities to report her strange behavior. Scarlett wasn't feeling well enough to evade the police force _and_ still continue her investigation. The cling in her chest combined with the mild fever she'd been forcing away with ibuprofen was wearing down her resolve.

"Luna, was it?" Ruben seemed to have decided to share what he knew with her. "About a month ago a factory opened up just outside of town. They were promising cheap medical supplies and drugs to try and help with the medicinal crisis in our country. They were little more than a glorified shipping company. No manufacturing was supposed to occur there."

"Sounds pretty nice, actually." Scarlett couldn't hide her scowl and by the way that Ruben was glaring at his hands, she had a feeling that the people in that particular house felt the same suspicions she did.

"It seemed that way at first." Eva chimed in, recalling now the facility that her son spoke of. She walked slowly into the living room balancing her cup of tea and taking a seat next to Ruben. "They were advertising all over town, trying to hire locals to come and work for them. With promises to boost the job market, economy, and discounts on healthcare how could anyone refuse such an offer? It was too good to be true."

"It's always too good to be true." Ruben wouldn't make eye contact with either woman in the room and Scarlett immediately wondered what he was hiding.

"Why would you say that? It sounds like it would do wonders for your hometown." Scarlett nodded toward the door and waited for someone to tell her what they were suspecting. Ruben and Eva exchanged glances and then Eva nodded her head in approval. Neither knew what Scarlett was up to, but they trusted enough to tell her what they were thinking and to try and help her.

It was humbling.

"Something about them seemed underhanded." Ruben was still managing to look everywhere except for _at_ Scarlett.

"What about them seemed underhanded?" Scarlett leaned forward in her chair and encouraged him to look at her.

"When they first started hiring I applied for a job there since it seemed so promising. When I showed up for the interview, I was confused. It didn't look much like a shipping company but more like a manufacturing company. There were laboratories. I was under the impression that the job I was applying for would be on a loading dock where I would receive third party medical supplies and then repack it to be shipped elsewhere. There were experiments going on in that place and I didn't want to be a part of that. I ditched the interview before the second part of it and came home. I refused to set foot in that place after that." Ruben continued. "They were definitely not what they appeared to be and I do not like secrets."

"If they weren't what they claimed to be, then what were they?" Scarlett pressed onward, knowing that his suspicions were finally coming to light.

"El Diablo." Ruben finally looked up at Scarlett. The room fell silent as Scarlett reflected on what she'd learned. She could see the fear in his eyes and knew she didn't have to tell either of them what she suspected was going on at the far end of town.

They both already _knew_ that the company on the outskirts of their home had something to do with the illness that had spread. What they _didn't_ know was the severity of the illness and that people had already begun to die and lose their minds because of it.

It was Scarlett's turn to avoid eye contact. Her cough drop was gone and so she covered her mouth as the annoying cough returned. Chest aching from the action, Scarlett quickly unwrapped another cough drop and tossed it into her mouth.

"You don't look well." Ruben commented to break the silence. Both Eva and Scarlett drew their attention to him. He seemed to suspect that maybe _she_ had already contracted the illness spreading throughout town. "Can we get you some tea?"

"No, no…" Scarlett waved her hand as Eva got up to warm up the water in the kettle again for the tea that Scarlett had already once declined. "I'm fine. I've had this cough for awhile now, got it somewhere else… I'm really alright. Now I'm just worried." Scarlett got up from where she was seated and thought of the manila envelope that she had hidden in her bag.

"Are you sure? You can rest here for the night if you like. I have a spare bedroom. It's not much, but it's comfortable and clean. You are more likely to stay healthy here than at a hotel." Eva offered. Scarlett was truly touched by the kindness of these near strangers.

"I'm sure but I do appreciate the offer. But my night is long from over and I've got places to be. Thank you again for everything you've done, both of you." Scarlett walked toward the door and then turned to look over her shoulder. "Do me a favor and stay inside tonight. Make sure your doors and windows are locked. If you can, avoid answering the door at any cost." She wasn't sure why she was giving them these directions, but Scarlett had a bad feeling about what would happen next.

Either way, it seemed everyone in the home knew where she was headed.

"Be careful." Eva called to her as she opened the door. With a curt nod, Scarlett walked out the front door, waited to hear the sound of the deadbolt locking and then walked quickly away and toward the outskirts of town where she knew she'd find the factory in question.


	11. Biohazard

It wasn't very difficult to locate the facility on the outskirts of town. All Scarlett really had to do was walk in the opposite direction that nearly every pedestrian was traveling in. Apparently _no one_ wanted to be near the place, as though it were cursed or infected by some plague. They weren't _entirely_ wrong about that, Scarlett guessed.

A river ran through the town, winding this way and that with the occasional bridge built over it for crossing of both pedestrians and vehicles alike. There was a facility in the center of town where the water was used to harness electricity. Scarlett peered into the river as she crossed a bridge in the business district and got a sickening feeling in her stomach. Several people had stopped to fill buckets with water before walking away.

While she had no proof to back it up, Scarlett somehow knew that the water flowing through the river was the primary source of whatever illness the townspeople had been infected with. It was the perfect way to contaminate a small but industrious town. People wouldn't question the water source they'd been using for years. Habitually unwrapping one of the many cough drops in her pocket, Scarlett popped it into her mouth and continued walking past the river. The air was thick with humidity as dark clouds crept in from the South. A warm breeze was just enough to make Scarlett shiver despite the summer weather. Would the rain be contaminated as well? She didn't want to linger long enough to find out.

The business district was nearly abandoned at the late hour, so Scarlett didn't have to deal with the evening traffic. Those heading home late from the office were rushing past her as everyone else had done since she'd arrived; with their arms crossed or faces hidden to avoid conversing with a stranger. Maybe a symptom of the illness was paranoia. There was certainly enough of that in every person she'd encountered minus Eva and her son. Once at the far end of the main road that ran through the small business district, Scarlett scanned the area, her hands in her pockets and didn't initially find the facility as she had hoped. She'd expected it to be right at the end of town, but that would've been _too_ easy. Backtracking toward the nearest crossing of the river, Scarlett decided to follow the water until its end in the same area. If her suspicions were correct, MedCo would want their facility located at the easily possible dumping point so they could measure the levels of contamination in the river without arousing suspicion.

Her idea paid off and the river led her to exactly where she had suspected it would. Only Scarlett didn't find the facility alight with activity as she had expected to. Instead the factory looked abandoned and condemned. The windows were boarded over and there was absolutely no sign of anyone within the place, at least that she could see from afar. Still, Scarlett didn't trust that it _was_ abandoned. MedCo probably had it under surveillance just as they had everywhere else she'd searched so far. Marcia and Mikhail were almost as paranoid as Scarlett was.

Even if it _wasn't_ the case, Scarlett would take precautions. Reaching beneath her jacket, she withdrew her handgun, checked the clip to make sure it was loaded and then slowly searched the factory's perimeter. Once she was sure there was no one outside waiting for her to show up so they could throw a black bag over her head and take her away, Scarlett felt safe enough to find an entry point. Coughing again, she slipped another cough drop into her mouth before continuing on.

She noted that the river right along the side of the facility as she had suspected, making it the perfect Petri dish for MedCo's unsavory human experiments. Pulling the surgical mask back over her mouth, she searched for a way into the building other than through the obvious front door. Catching a scent of something foul on the wind, Scarlett covered her face with her palm and gagged on the smell of something burning.

"Smoke?" Scarlett cleared her throat and walked closer to the river so that she could search for the source of the smoke. Sure enough there was a cloud of black smoke coming from something on top of the building. Heart beating faster when she realized that someone had to have _set_ something ablaze to create smoke and was likely now inside the facility, Scarlett stopped searching the building so hard for a neat entrance and instead looked for a place where she could get a leg up and scale the side of the building to the roof.

When she'd searched the outside of the building she'd noticed multiple pipes draining from the gutters, but only recalled one that was near a fire escape on the second floor. Backtracking behind the building near the surrounding chain link fence, Scarlett stared at the pipe curiously, her hands on her hips as she considered climbing up. Tugging on the metal brackets holding it against the wall, she tested the strength of the pipe and found it sturdy enough. The fire escape ladder was a good three feet away from the rain gutters, but Scarlett had confidence she could make the jump. Holstering her gun, Scarlett then dug through her bag until she found her black gloves and put them on.

Scarlett was generally over confident about the things she did until she failed at them and was forced to reconsider. Deciding this was as good a chance as any, Scarlett cracked her knuckles and then used began pull herself up along the drain pipe. Feet flat against the wall she climbed along the gutters quickly to avoid over thinking her task. The gutters groaned and creaked, threatening to snap away from where they hung on the building but Scarlett persisted. As she got closer to the ladder on the second floor the gutters started to give. Her weight was too much for it. Gutters were only designed to hold water and sometimes leaves, definitely not _people_.

Bracing herself one last time against the pipe as it groaned threateningly, she leapt toward the ladder and grabbed onto the protective metallic casing surrounding it but her hands instantly slipped and lost their grip and she fell.

"Son of a bitch!" Cursing, Scarlett grabbed desperately onto the bottom rung of the ladder and was relieved when she caught and her grip didn't slip even if her shoulder instantly throbbed in annoyance from the way it tugged uncomfortably. As she managed to get her other hand on the ladder it shifted and slid down from its locked position, descending toward the ground accompanied by the clatter of metal grinding against metal.

"So much for stealth." Scarlett exhaled deeply but hurried up the ladder even though it hadn't finished descending yet. As it crashed into place, Scarlett was already near the top of the ladder and planning her way to the roof. Looking back toward the gutter she'd leapt from, it seemed like the only option she had left. She hoped that it had enough strength left to give her the final boost onto the building. Considering she'd only weakened the pipes down below she felt optimistic. With the side of the building parallel to her about three feet away, just as the gutter had been Scarlett decided to jump and hopefully use that momentum against the wall to push herself up and climb onto the roof with the aid of the gutter.

Balancing one foot on the top of the ladder and the other against the window frame, Scarlett braced herself momentarily then leapt the distance across the gap and caught onto the edge of the roof above the gutters. Feet flat against the wall, she climbed along it step by step until her full weight was on top of the building safely.

Instantly she got to her feet and aimed her gun in front of her, retrieving it from the holster underneath her jacket which was finally making her sweat. It wasn't exactly ideal to wear a jacket, even a light one, during the summer anywhere in the world but it provided the space she needed to hide her weapons and other tools while still leaving them easily accessible. Heart racing, Scarlett hurried across the roof of the facility, checked the entrance from the roof and found it locked as she had expected.

Running past the steel door, checking around corners carefully with her gun pointed toward the ground she found no one else on the roof except for her. The smoke was billowing out of a chimney on the opposite end of the building. Whoever had set the fire was likely inside the building. Feeling safe to finally catch her breath, Scarlett hunched over with her hand on her knee and coughed after pulling the surgical mask away from her mouth, trying to get rid of the awful cling in her throat exacerbated by both the physical effort of scaling the side of the building and the smoke gathering in the air. Walking away from the stench, Scarlett couldn't seem to stop coughing now that she'd begun. The ache in her chest had only gotten worse as she continued to exert herself physically. Not like that would stop her or anything, but she couldn't help but kick herself at the same time for pushing too hard.

Walking away from the smoke, Scarlett discarded the idea of going into the building through the door on the roof. By the time she managed to break through the lock, she would have alerted anyone else in the building of exactly where she was and cornered herself at the same time. No, she'd search the edge of the building for a window that would provide easier access. Spitting some kind of terrible discolored phlegm off the side of the building, Scarlett searched for a window that would be easier to break through than the one that she'd used to scale the building.

Her search paid off, even if it looked like another dangerous experience on the side of the building. Holstering her gun again, Scarlett sat on the edge of the roof and then turned around and carefully hung off the side, bracing her feet flat against the wall as she had before. Beneath her was another fire escape ladder, but this one had a proper platform. It was a good ten feet below the roof, but if Scarlett could get just a bit closer before she dropped then she would avoid breaking any bones made fragile in the last few weeks and breaking the platform if it wasn't as sturdy as she had hoped.

Unable to find a way to drop the extra two feet she wanted to before falling, Scarlett instead decided to aim for the railing and hope she could catch the top of the window sill and regain her balance before she fell and hurt herself. Letting go of the side of the roof, she dropped and slid her hands purposely against the wall, just so she would have the ability to grab hold in case she started to drift away from it. Just as she had planned she grabbed onto the top of the window sill as she got close enough.

Her knees buckled as her feet hit the railing on the side of the fire escape balcony. Instead of standing upright as she had hoped, her sore fingers slipped off of the window frame and she fell face first onto the fire escape. Thankfully she managed to rest her arms in front of her before her face slammed into the grating but it felt like every joint in her body had locked up and begun to tremble from the force of her fall.

Still, despite her discomfort, Scarlett jumped to her feet and shook out her limbs to regain the proper use of her joints. Physical damage could always be dealt with after the job was done. That had always been how she'd handled it in the past and it had gotten her this far without dying so she didn't feel the need to change strategies halfway through.

"Maybe I should look into parkour." There was that sense of humor to ease her tension again, though she partially wasn't kidding.

Trying the window first to see if she could trick it open at the hinges, Scarlett pouted when she found it wouldn't give. Either it'd been locked or disuse had rendered it stuck over time. Slipping off her coat, Scarlett held it against the glass of the window and then bashed her elbow against the glass. It cracked upon the first hit and broke upon the second.

Using the coat she broke away the remaining shards of broken glass until she had created a big enough hole to crawl through. Breaking the glass wasn't exactly stealthy, but if whoever was in the building had heard any of the other awful sounds she'd made and hadn't come after her yet then they were an idiot. Once the quiet had been disturbed in an irreparable way then Scarlett didn't see the point in remaining stealthy. Louder was generally faster and if they were already after her and she didn't see the mortal danger staring her in the face then she didn't see the harm in making noise. If anything, an intruder would be on the opposite side of the building where she'd slid the fire escape out of place accidentally.

Slipping her coat back on once she'd shaken the broken glass out of it, Scarlett manipulated her way through the broken window and into the dark room. Gun back in hand, Scarlett flipped a switch on the side of the Tesla powered glove and a small glow of light emitted from a glass piece she'd added to it on the trip to Madrid. With the flashlight attached to her it would be much easier for her to get things done and she wouldn't have to give up a hand that she could be using in self defense.

Much to her surprise the rooms weren't filled with smoke as she had suspected after seeing the billowing cloud from the chimney. Whatever burn was taking place within the facility was controlled. Hurrying out of the office she'd broken into, Scarlett checked around the doorway and down the hall for intruders, kicking in each door as she did so that she could make sure no one was hiding within any of the offices and she wouldn't later be ambushed.

There were several rooms filled with laboratory equipment, chemicals overturned on tables, and weird tools Scarlett had never seen before strewn about the floor but she decided that whatever was burning within the building was more important than what she'd find in any of the abandoned rooms. Usually what was discarded and left behind was far less interesting than what was being destroyed.

Scarlett hurried down the main staircase and into the lobby once she'd checked the second floor and found no intruders and continued toward the smell of smoke. Running and ignoring the tightness that worsened in her chest, she found the source of the terrible burning smell at last. After opening the door to the large room at the end of the lobby, Scarlett was actually startled into place. The room was filled with hospital beds, half of which were covered in brownish dried blood. Several were broken in odd places and fabric restraints were hanging off of at least four of them. A split second later she shook out of her state of awe and ran back into the main room in search of a fire extinguisher. Before she could examine what was being burned she'd have to obviously put out the fire. Her gloves were a lot of things, but fireproof wasn't one of them.

Whoever had set the fire was nowhere in the building that Scarlett had seen so she holstered her gun in favor of breaking the safety glass protecting the fire extinguisher near the entrance to the lobby. Extinguisher in hand, Scarlett ran back into the room and toward the controlled burn at the far end of it where there were stacks and stacks of file folders mostly destroyed and curling up into ashes.

Aiming the nozzle at the burn, Scarlett sprayed the foam onto the fire until the flames dissipated and the room was filled completely with smoke of the aftermath. Discarding the extinguisher to the side, Scarlett cracked open several windows to air out the room. The second window she opened she stuck her head out of and pulled away the surgical mask from her neck where she felt it constricting tightly and breathed in the fresh air greedily. Her lungs were aching from lack of oxygen and illness.

Once the soreness and her chest started to subside, Scarlett leaned back into the room and coughed again instantly but couldn't stop her investigation simply because she had a terrible cling in her chest. Back toward the mess of charred and now foamy folders, Scarlett knelt down and began searching for any paper that could've been salvaged. Thankfully the bottom of the pile was only partially burnt so she was able to recover an entire stack of folders about three inches high.

Sitting on the ground next to the pile but away from the smoldering char, Scarlett opened the first folder which half fell apart when from the fire it'd been under. Discarding the folder and keeping the remaining papers inside of it, she flipped through the pages of lab reports and saw very little of interest at first look.

Glancing back at the rest of the room again, Scarlett knew something horrible had happened there. Something had been so terrible that it had forced the facility to be shut down and abandoned in a hurry. Someone had likely only returned to set the fire so that Scarlett wouldn't be able to find anything in her search before they came to do a proper job of disposing of the village the way they had done in Senegal. Clean ups took time, time that Scarlett hadn't given them.

Some of the beds were overturned while others looked pristine and untouched. Feeling uncomfortable and paranoid of what had been done within the room, Scarlett put the surgical mask back on despite how she couldn't stop coughing every few moments. It was better to breathe in her own sickness than whatever had prompted someone to bleed all over their sheets or become so irrational that they had to be strapped down.

Turning her attention back to the papers in her lap, Scarlett scanned through them before taking out her cell phone and starting to snap images of them for later use as she had done many times before. The more evidence she gathered against MedCo the better and she knew there would be no way for her to skim through all of it while sitting in the room. Despite the fact that whoever had begun the fire had long since abandoned ship, Scarlett knew that it was a very big warning sign that someone had been there at all.

It meant that they _knew_ Scarlett was in Madrid and were trying to cover their tracks. At some point they'd come for her as they always did and she had every intention of being long gone and looking for Tony so she could catch a late dinner with him before that happened. Catching the time on her phone and seeing it was fifteen minutes to midnight, Scarlett realized it would be a _very_ late dinner.

MedCo was calling themselves something different at this place, likely since the name MedCo was now associated with what had happened in South Africa. Their facility had been destroyed under suspicious circumstances, so MedCo was no longer a safe and honest name. Now it seemed they were traveling under the alias IPDS which stood for International Pharmaceutical Delivery Services. Making a mental note of this name and to do the research on it when she got her hands on a computer, Scarlett continued through the files.

Most of them seemed to be case files, lab reports on anonymous patients who were listed only by numbers and gender, not by name. The pieces were falling into place on the chess board in Scarlett's mind. She'd theorized for a long time that MedCo had been performing experiments but now the three different locations made sense. They were test groups, set up just like an experiment in a laboratory but instead of using lab rats they were using unsuspecting people in different areas of the world. Perhaps Turkey was the control group and she'd saved herself from a colossal waste of time by heading there.

Finally Scarlett reached the end of the patient files and set them aside and found instead a list of tests and their results desired and the actual results obtained. There was a catalog on the left of what was administered to patients and how frequently and how the patient had reacted. The list terrified Scarlett and she felt her stomach become queasy. There was a directory of various strains of different diseases, everything from Malaria to Small Pox that were being enhanced, altered and mixed together to create super germs.

Most of the patient tests had ended in death and no resulting vaccine that would cure them of what terrible bug had been administered. Shoving those particular papers into her bag, Scarlett considered what she knew. What was MedCo's ultimate goal? It sounded like they had global political ambitions if they were trying to create super enhanced viruses. Being the only company able to cure the diseases they spread around the world and offer relief to an epidemic of massive proportions would give them terrible power.

It wasn't the first time illness had been used in a militant way and Scarlett was positive that it wouldn't be the last time. Hell, she wasn't even surprised that MedCo was doing such terrible things, but it still left her feeling disconcerted.

Browsing through folders, Scarlett read on to find notes on experiments that attempted to enhance the human psyche and physique. Was MedCo trying to create a super soldier of sorts? There had been many attempts in the years past that had been partially successful and Scarlett had always considered that some secret agency was keeping those projects under wraps even in the United States, but having such technology in the hands of people like Mikhail and Marcia was the worst possible scenario. They were smarter than the average villains. It wasn't like they were in it simply for the power to be gained.

That was where most villains tended to falter in their genius. Their hunger for power was so great they cut corners and would do _anything_ to achieve the fastest result. MedCo had been working on this stuff for years, and she was sure they wouldn't mind spending a few more years if it meant they got the desired results.

But it seemed every attempt at creating a super soldier had been a failure, according to the notes, and had done nothing but provided their test subjects with new and terrible ailments that had no reverse. The tests had been done over time, administering the serum slowly in their food or via injection. Initially strength and intelligence had been boosted but eventually begun to deteriorate as their lungs rotted away, mimicking the signs of a respiratory infection. The symptoms had only gotten worse from there and Scarlett felt her hands trembling with fear.

She couldn't consider the fact that maybe _she'd_ been infected, not until she was somewhere safe. It was too much for her to deal with and she it wasn't safe to panic.

Flipping through the remaining files, Scarlett stopped and stared in awe at the last in the pile. The familiar S.H.I.E.L.D. logo with the regal looking bird adorned the front of the folder along with the glittering red words that alerted the reader that whatever was inside was Top Secret. What were S.H.I.E.L.D. files doing in a MedCo facility?

That terrified Scarlett more than anything she'd discovered thus far and successfully distracted her from the notion of her possible contamination. What if S.H.I.E.L.D. had once been in cahoots with MedCo and now the two were working together to create super soldiers and superior germs? It would explain how they'd managed to stay under international terror organizations radar for so long. What better cover was there than receiving assistance from one of the leading organizations in terror prevention?

The date on the files had been from twenty years prior, so Scarlett felt a sense of relief. It was more likely that the files had been stolen, not given to them by S.H.I.E.L.D. MedCo had gotten their hands on Stark Industries files at one time so it didn't surprise her that they had managed to weasel their way into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s computer systems. This brought a smirk to her lips. There was definitely no security system better than Jarvis and what was provided at Stark Industries, so it was probably a cakewalk getting into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s computers after accessing Tony's systems if they'd even gotten into his private ones.

Starting to feel like the walls were closing in on her, Scarlett's coughing only became worse but she needed to get through the remaining files. Her heart was pounding in her ears loudly, even if someone had been sneaking up on her she likely wouldn't have heard it at all. Cursing under her breath, she browsed through the S.H.I.E.L.D. file despite the increasing tremor in her hands.

The files listed information about a series of tests on a subject labeled SAMP #566A3G. Scanning over the files and deciding to leave them in the fire and possibly set them ablaze again so that if anyone came searching after her they wouldn't see what she actually discovered. The notes on the subject in the folder had mentioned that S.H.I.E.L.D. had suspected that the key to the super soldier serum that had been destroyed after its only successful use during World War II was in the subject's blood.

Multiple painless sounding experiments had been done against the subject's will under the guise of physical exams and while the results had been remarkable there had been no connections to the super soldier serum or the abilities that had been exhibited by Captain Steve Rogers. Scarlett's fingers brushed over the familiar sounding name and she furrowed her brow in thought.

"Captain America? _Really?_ A super soldier, huh? I thought he only did those campy movies." Scoffing, Scarlett continued through the paperwork. The subject's lab results were remarkable, showing a DNA strand that Scarlett had never seen before. She was a little rusty on her biology considering she hadn't bothered with it in years, but she knew enough to see that the DNA in their subject was definitely _not_ human. It would make sense if S.H.I.E.L.D. had their hands on some non-human entity that they would consider their blood could perhaps produce some sort of viral enhancement.

"What, did Robert Ludlum write this or something?" Sighing, Scarlett closed the file and then set it back in the pile of smoking charred paper. Thankfully whoever had started the fire earlier had left a box of fireplace matches nearby. Once sure she'd gathered all her things, Scarlett got to her feet and nearly fell back down when she realized she'd been severely trembling from head to toe. Turning to look at the hospital beds again, Scarlett wondered if maybe she'd been slipped something while she'd been held captive by MedCo. Was she another glorified experiment? Could that be why she was so sick? How was she supposed to fight off something that would inevitably eat away at her system and leave her a bleeding tortured shell of what she one was?

Realizing she hadn't been breathing until the world started to spin around her, Scarlett tried to breathe in deeply but instead coughed. The dizziness from lack of oxygen persisted and she quickly moved across the room to retrieve the matches she'd spied on the window sill. Lighting one of them finally after breaking the first two with shaking hands she tossed them all into the fire she'd started and then walked out into the lobby. With the original intention of heading back up the stairs and out the window she'd come in from, Scarlett abandoned the idea and headed instead out the front doors.

Every nerve in her body was telling her to get the hell out of the facility and she didn't have the peace of mind to argue.

What did it matter if someone saw her when she was having a panic attack anyway? Chest tight and limbs starting to lock up again like they had on the balcony, Scarlett hurried around the side of the building and toward the river until her knees gave out. About to use the water nearby to splash on her face to try and calm herself down after the horrific memories of what had happened to her when she'd last had a panic attack while working with Tony, she cursed when she realized that the water was likely contaminated and she couldn't use it.

Instead she scooted away from it and pulled her knees close to her chest and tried to take long deep breaths. It was much harder than it sounded, her whole body quivering with nerves and her chest already constricted by the phlegm from whatever terrible illness she'd contracted. Coughing again, she covered her mouth and swore, closing her eyes tightly. Was it possible that the terrible food she'd been given by MedCo while being held captive to work on robot limbs had been tainted with some sort of super soldier serum? It clearly wasn't a disease they'd been trying to give her, seeing as she'd only started showing symptoms recently.

This calmed Scarlett considerably. The files had shown results within the first forty eight hours of injection or consumption. There would have been no time for MedCo to experiment on Scarlett. She hadn't gotten any stronger or smarter while she'd been there. She'd simply been the same resourceful little shit she'd always been. Then again, when she'd been with Tony her whole world _had_ turned upside down and she'd practically grown into a different woman with a completely new agenda.

But she doubted that had anything to do with any experiments done on her without her knowledge. Falling in love and becoming sentimental would be just about the _weirdest_ side effect in history. Managing at last to take deep breaths without gagging or trembling Scarlett's head started to clear at last.

It didn't make sense for her to be infected with anything. Given the onset of her symptoms, someone close to her would've had to have administered the dose consistently. The only person she'd spent an extended period of time around in that timeframe had been Tony and she _knew_ and _trusted _that he would never do anything to intentionally put her in harm's way. This was another tactic of her paranoid mind to try and sabotage the happiness that she'd found with Tony Stark even if it was the most confusing happiness she'd ever felt before in her life.

Still, it didn't mean that her sickness was a mere coincidence. She'd have to start keeping a journal of her symptoms and how they worsened or lessened over time. With the notes she'd managed to get copies of within the abandoned building, Scarlett would have something to compare them to so that she could properly assess her situation and weigh her risks. Now that she'd logically pulled apart the boggled thoughts that had made her head swim, she was feeling better if not still a little unsettled and shaky.

Slowly getting to her feet, Scarlett dusted herself off and examined her scraped and sore hands. As she began to collect herself and make sure she hadn't dropped anything in her panic she heard footsteps in the dirt behind her. Instantly grabbing her gun from the holster underneath her jacket, she turned and aimed her weapon at the sound.

"You have pointed that thing at me way more times than is healthy in a relationship." Tony held up his hands defensively, having been expecting her to aim her weapon at him considering he'd snuck up on her.

"If you keep creeping up on me like that you're going to end up getting shot." Scarlett holstered the gun and exhaled deeply, slumping her shoulders and running her trembling hands through the hair that had escaped how she'd had it pulled back and out of her face.

"You do know that it's not healthy at _all_ in a relationship for one of us to end up at gunpoint even once, right?" Tony joked, a smile on his face. Scarlett looked off and he could feel the tension in the air. Something had happened while they'd been apart and Tony didn't like the feel of it. Scarlett was pale and she was something he'd only ever seen her once before.

Scarlett was scared.

"What?" Scarlett waved her hand when Tony simply stood staring at her. "I know this is like beating a dead horse now, but it's not safe for you here. You've really got to get out of here. I won't be far behind you this time, it's not like before. I just need you to get out of the way and to somewhere safe."

"You know you can't keep doing this, right?" Tony spit out the words before he'd actually considered what he was saying.

"Doing what? And why not? Are you going to punish me?" Scarlett batted her eyelashes playfully, attempting again to ease the tension with humor and also distract Tony from whatever serious conversation he wanted to have. "Besides, _you're_ the one who shouldn't be here, not me."

"Doing what? Seriously? Running yourself ragged until you can't function in pursuit of a company that's practically a ghost? Tell me, did you find anything in there or was it the same bullshit we're always running into?" Tony continued before Scarlett could object and inform him that she actually _did_ find something. "Of course not, because they're doing this to you on purpose and the only one who doesn't see that is you."

"Of course I see it, why do you think I came here? I was trying to cut them to the chase." Scarlett shook her head in objection.

"You're physically exhausted and mentally drained! You need to see a doctor and get some rest and then spend a week in bed with me!" Tony added on the last bit like it was necessary and Scarlett couldn't help but laugh, even if she was scared that Tony was in such close proximity to the water that was practically killing the people of the town nearby.

"I know I am, Tony. I'm not stupid! Didn't you get my note? I was hoping we could catch dinner…" Scarlett nodded toward the streets leading away from the town hoping that she could get him to go back to Madrid even if it meant she had to jump ship early. But what about the nice people who had helped her? What about her car on the other side of town?

"Dinner? It's one in the morning, Scarlett."

"I didn't say it was the best idea, just what I had been hoping." Scarlett furrowed her brow. "What has gotten into you? Why are you so serious?"

"Because I'm scared, Scarlett!" Tony grabbed her by the shoulders throwing off her balance. "What happens the next time you run off and I don't catch up in time and find you dead? What am I supposed to do then?"

"Tony you can't be here." Scarlett spoke quietly after a minute to contemplate his words. Was he really that scared that she couldn't take care of herself? Their fears were so similar to the other's Scarlett was actually partially amused by the fact that they were both fighting so hard for something they _both_ wanted and that was to keep the other safe and yet both being so stubborn about it.

"Why the hell not? You keep telling me that I can't be with you but you have yet to give me one damn good reason!" Tony shouted in frustration.

"Because…" Scarlett turned to look back at the river flowing innocently behind her. It was terrifying to think of something that was usually so benign could cause something so terrible to happen.

"Yeah, spit it out!" Tony shook her and Scarlett wobbled, her head practically rattling from the motion. Placing a hand on her head to steady her, Tony furrowed his brow in confusion.

"You can't be here because this is a biohazard zone." Scarlett spoke calmly and offered a knowing smile.

"What?" Tony spat out dumbly, his mouth hanging open in awe. That was certainly _not_ what he had expected her to say.

"MedCo has been using this facility to taint the water and the townsfolk are dying off one by one. I checked at their local hospital and found some records inside of the facility proving it." Scarlett nodded her head resolutely. "If we don't get out of here soon, we're going to be in the same boat and I'm not sure there's a cure."

The look of panic on Tony's face would've been hilarious if it hadn't been completely genuine. Now Tony understood why Scarlett was so terrified when he'd approached. If what she had said was true then there was a distinct possibility that they were both ill and an even greater possibility that Scarlett was already infected.

No wonder she hadn't let being sick stop her.

"Great, so maybe now you'll actually listen to me." Scarlett placed both hands on either side of his neck and looked at him seriously. "You've got to get out of here."


	12. Quarantine

"Biohazard? Wait, like… Dustin Hoffman in full body yellow rubber suits with gas masks?" Tony was awestruck by Scarlett's revelation; so awestruck in fact that he was having a tough time wrapping his mind around it.

"Yes, just like Outbreak Tony but with less monkeys and no Cuba Gooding Jr." Resting her hand on his cheek Scarlett looked at him sternly and seriously. "You _need_ to leave. I don't know how many other ways to say it unless you want me to start in other languages."

"You're out of your mind if you think I'm leaving without you."

"I'm leaving too, Tony, but my car is on the other side of town." Scarlett nodded back toward the main road that she'd taken to get to the abandoned MedCo facility that still stood ominously behind them, a tower of smoke coming from the chimney on the roof.

"Believe it or not, I took a cab." Tony mused. Scarlett stared at Tony with a quizzical expression on her face, momentarily at a loss for words.

"You took a cab?" Slowly Scarlett's scared expression turned into an amused one. It wasn't exactly typical for Tony Stark to take a cab anywhere. A luxury car service, sure, but never a simple cab.

"I never know how long I'm going to be in one place thanks to you and it didn't make sense to put on the suit since I didn't know what kind of danger you were going to get me into! If you weren't in danger then it would've likely attracted it."

"Danger _I_ get you into? How many times have I told you to go home and stop following me around? You get into these situations on your own, _not_ because of me."

"You know I can't stop following you, it's not as simple as you're making it sound. Is this really important right now?" Tony knew they could argue about the same thing for hours and hours and still never _actually_ get any results or closure on the matter. They didn't have that kind of time.

"You started it." Scarlett accused but then held her hand up to stop him from continuing to argue with her over something that was becoming trivial. "It doesn't matter! What matters is that you have to leave and get somewhere safe."

"You're coming with me then." Tony grabbed her arm and started down the path that would take them back to the main road and through the business district.

"I guess I am considering you took a _cab_ to get here."

"If I knew that there was going to be a medical emergency I would've worn my suit but _someone_ keeps me out of the loop of all her fancy little strategies so it's not like I can plan ahead." Tony narrowed his eyes at her as he led her along though he wasn't actually angry with her. "How do you know what's going on here, anyway? You said you found proof? What proof?"

"Would it have killed you to rent a car?"

"I thought about it but then I would've rented a Maserati and you would've yelled at me for being too flashy." Tony considered with a smile on his face. In actuality his mind was reeling. What kind of virus or infection was spreading throughout the innocent looking town? Had Scarlett _really_ been infected as he feared? She'd been showing symptoms of illness for over a week. Was it possible that MedCo had gotten to her while she was hunting them in one place or another? It didn't make sense to Tony. She hadn't been captured since he found her in South Africa, bleeding in the sand. She wasn't stupid, so she wouldn't have consumed anything given to her by any strange people.

"Couldn't you have rented something normal? Like a Ford Taurus or something? Seriously, Tony. What do you plan on doing with a Maserati while following me? This isn't a vacation."

"Why would I drive around in a tin can? That's ridiculous. Are you even hearing yourself right now, Scarlett?" Scarlett pulled on his arm and forced him to a stop in the middle of the road. "What?" Without answering, Scarlett placed a hand to his lips to shut him up. While he wanted to object and joke around, there was urgency in Scarlett's eyes that he didn't like. Quickly she pulled him away from the main stretch of road and into an alleyway between office buildings. At the streetlight down the hill she could see several black trucks, each looking as suspicious as the next. Slipping her phone out of her pocket she took several photos around the side of the building then scrolled through them. Sure enough, there was a convoy going through town and she had a terrible feeling about it.

"We need to stay off the main road. Try and stick to the shadows." She whispered, leaning against the building and taking a deep breath as she considered her options but instead she started coughing and groaned in annoyance at the tickle in her throat that just wouldn't go away. Instinctively she unwrapped one of the few remaining Ricolas and popped it into her mouth before realizing Tony was staring at her both in horror and worry. Obviously he was torn between wanting to make sure she was alright and the fact that she had germs and was very possibly going to share them with him.

"Are you alright?" Tony decided that his concern outweighed his disgust and he stayed close to her against the wall, pushing her messy hair out of her face again while trying to examine her features for any further signs of illness.

"It's just a cough." Scarlett rolled her eyes, but secretly she was pleased that Tony cared enough about her to be concerned. It was a strange feeling. Scarlett had never had _anyone_ care for her quite like that before. The fact that the man caring for her was the selfish spoiled rotten Tony Stark meant even more. Scott had cared for her in a weird way, but it was always an obligation or she was treated with condescension.

"Right, and this is just a vacation." Tony cocked an eyebrow curiously. "Why are we staying off the main road?"

"Take a look down the hill." Scarlett nodded toward the edge of the building, trying to ignore the cling in her chest that had only worsened thanks to the physical effort scaling the building had taken and the stress she'd felt after finding out about the experiments MedCo had been performing. Tony peered around the side of the building as instructed and immediately spied the suspicious trucks.

"That's definitely not good."

"Tell me about it. Come on, I'll fill you in while we try to get across town." Scarlett took his hand and led him through the alleyway and around the back side of one of the buildings that led them onto a side street.

"When I first got here I noticed that the townspeople were acting rather peculiar. I managed to gather the attention of an older woman, Eva, and she told me that there's quite the flu epidemic here. She mentioned that it's infected about thirty or so people but that no one had yet died. So, curious as I always am, I took a trip to the local hospital in an attempt to discover what was really causing the outbreak. I've had a feeling for the past few days that MedCo was developing biological weaponry anyway so this wasn't too much of a surprise, at least to me."

"So you hear that there's a horrible pathogen spreading around and the first place you go is ground zero? Smart move."

"I already _told_ you. The virus is spreading in the water, not air born." Rolling her eyes, Scarlett checked both ways before crossing the street and walking through another alleyway. She wanted to give Eva a heads up about what was going on so that the woman and her son could at least be prepared for the worst that was ahead of them.

"You can't _possibly_ know that." Tony squeezed her hand and urged her to stop walking. "I know you're thinking it too, Scarlett…" Before he could continue he was interrupted.

"No." Scarlett shook her head adamantly after swallowing the lump of fear in her throat. She refused to get caught in that line of thinking again. "Not possible. I'm just run down. Now, would you listen to me? MedCo wouldn't risk infecting their employees with an air born virus that's why the built the facility so close to the town's water source so that they would be able to control the distribution. The river ends in a lake at the far end of town and doesn't travel further than that." Tony's fears weren't at all put at ease. "Unfortunately the outbreak is much worse than the media has let on since they're trying not to create a panic." She urged Tony to keep walking. It was only a matter of time before MedCo security started hunting for them and the situation became dangerous. With Tony without his suit, _again_, they wouldn't be in the best of straights. Then again, she _could_ give him her gun since she had the Tesla glove fired up and ready to go. For some reason this made her uneasy.

"Of course, if people knew how devastating the outbreak really was then they'd try to leave town and risk expanding the area of contamination." Tony grimaced. It was an unfortunate and harsh reality that Scarlett was exposing. While Tony didn't exactly think the best of the world given his experiences with the seedier parts of it in the past decade, he definitely hadn't anticipated the kind of chaos that Scarlett was showing him first hand.

"Exactly, Tony…" Scarlett crept through the alleyway with him and stopped in front of a brick wall that separated the two alleys and kept the area private. Starting to backtrack out of the alleyway to find another way around she stopped suddenly when sirens started ringing in the distance.

"That can't be good." Tony pulled out his cell phone and triggered Jarvis. "What's that siren, Jarvis?"

As the artificially intelligent system responded his British accent was drowned out by another much closer siren as it rang over head. People were suddenly running out into the streets one after another. The black jeeps and trucks pulled up along the street and people in full body containment suits were jumping out and starting to pull people aside. Among them were soldiers, equipped with gas masks and holding high powered rifles. Would MedCo really kill anyone who didn't obey?

"What the hell?" Tony gawked as he watched the scene unfold from the shadows in front of him. Scarlett on the other hand had started toward the back of the alleyway again. She dragged one of the dumpsters closer to the wall and then jumped on top of it. She tried to get Tony's attention so that they could hurry and get out of there before the whole town and every exit was locked down. Realizing he wasn't paying any attention to her and instead watching the chaos, Scarlett jumped off of the top of the dumpster and then ran back over to him.

Grabbing his arm she dragged him over to the dumpster. At first he objected since his moral compass was telling him to save the people that were being manhandled by the men in uniform but it only took him moments to comply. There was nothing he could do except for get away. The only way to save the people of that particular town and the victims of the experiment they had been unwilling participants in, would be to put a stop to MedCo.

"It's quarantine protocol. They're locking us in." Scarlett whispered in a panic. The tightness in her chest was only getting worse and she knew that at the rate she was going, it wouldn't be long before the physical exertion was too much and she passed out. If she could just get them to a hotel in Madrid then it wouldn't be a big deal. Right now she had to focus on getting them out of there.

"I'll call the suit."

"What and put a giant target on our backs? No. That's a terrible idea. You thought we were outnumbered in Senegal? Well this is way worse."

"Then what do we do? They're locking everything down and I'm unarmed."

"The rooftops should still be safe for a period of time. That could potentially get us uptown." Scarlett nodded to the office building they were standing next to.

"Are you out of your mind? That's three stories high! How is that safer than calling my suit?"

"There's a fire escape within reach if you're willing to get creative. Trust me, I've done way more dangerous things tonight than this." Scarlett nodded toward the wall that they could use as leverage that blocked off the alleyways. "We have to get the hell out of here. There are already people dead, Tony. I made copies of the patient files at the hospital and this outbreak is far worse than the media is letting on. It's a full scale epidemic and I can guarantee you that this is MedCo's cleanup crew. Who knows if any of these people will survive…"

"How do you know it's not the National Guard or something? Maybe it isn't MedCo."

"Because this isn't New Jersey. I can guarantee you that someone is working undercover from MedCo at the hospital and has been stopping any calls that have been asking for government assistance. Someone was at the MedCo building before me and was burning important files. I'm guessing that only happened because someone saw me at the hospital. Even if MedCo _hadn't_ planned to deal with this mess today, they're dealing with it now because I threw a wrench in the gears. We finally have the upper hand. I'm not sacrificing my play because of a stupid convoy." Scarlett got on top of the dumpster and waited for Tony to follow her. Hesitantly he did, but only because he could hear the urgency in her voice.

He had to face facts. Tony had never been in this type of dire situation. He'd experienced his fair share of intense situations but nothing to that extreme. Scarlett's career had been one intense and desperate situation after the next. If they were _ever_ going to truly trust the other, there was no better way to start. The duo managed their way onto the concrete wall between alleyways with ease. Scarlett nodded toward the fire escape a few feet away and Tony nodded to agree. Thankfully Tony was in excellent physical shape, so it wouldn't be too hard to get him to follow her.

"Do you think that MedCo is hoping to catch you in the quarantine?"

"It couldn't hurt for them to try. I bet you that's what they're thinking. It's why they executed it so quickly. It's to our advantage really. Haste usually leads to inefficiency." Scarlett used the bulky top of the office window frame to walk across to the fire escape where she turned around and waited for Tony to join her, offering him her hand.

"We've got to get out of here." Tony groaned under his breath with urgency, finally having pocketed his phone despite the queries coming from Jarvis about what was going on.

"Isn't that what I've been saying?"

"Are you kidding? It's practically your catchphrase this month." Tony followed Scarlett up the steps of the fire escape. With the sirens ringing loudly throughout the town and the sounds of people screaming in horror as they were carted away or detained by the men in black trucks, there was no point in trying to remain quiet. No one would hear them anyway. Once at the top of the fire escape, Tony offered Scarlett a boost so that she could jump to the roof but was surprised when she instead stepped on the railing, then onto the window frame and scaled the remaining space between the window and the roof without having noticed his offer to help at all.

"Come on." Scarlett nodded as she leaned over the side of the roof. Her head was swimming as the grip on her chest tightened, but there would be time to deal with the illness later. She offered Tony a hand as he unsteadily began to follow the same actions his girlfriend had taken. He was in good physical shape obviously considering his role as a super hero, but he was used to having his suit do most of the hard work for him. Finally, Tony managed to grab the edge of the roof the way Scarlett had done, but with not nearly as much grace as she had managed.

Scarlett helped him onto the roof and then searched the area to better decide on their next move.

"Jarvis?"

"Yes, sir."

"I need you to get a satellite read out of my coordinates and tell me where these black vans are and what areas are being barricaded and locked down. Find us a clear path out of here and keep me updated. Be discreet."

"I would recommend heading west and following the path along the river to its exit." Jarvis spoke immediately. He'd started looking into what was going on when Tony had given the initial command back in the alleyway and had already started putting together escape routes without having been prompted.

"Jarvis, my car is in the next town over. Here…" Scarlett snatched Tony's phone out of his hand and then walked along the top of the building and attempted to catch her breath.

"It is good to hear your voice, Miss Damien."

"And yours, Jarvis." She stifled a cough and then put in the coordinates for the vehicle she'd stowed away. "Keep your ears open Jarvis, we're going to run."

"As is best. Do be careful. The primary exits are marked off and there are multiple armed military vehicles." The Jarvis program on Tony's phone muted. Tony peered over Scarlett's shoulder at the map of the town that came onto the screen and nodded his head resolutely.

"Can you do this?" Scarlett turned to look back at him. She had faith that Tony could take care of himself after watching him do so outside of Senegal, she wasn't sure he had the physical agility required to get across the rooftops and out of the business district safely.

Tony considered it and then stole his phone away from her and slipped it in his pocket. Before Scarlett could suggest and alternative means of escape, Tony grabbed her by her chin and turned her so that he could kiss her desperately. Scarlett wasn't sure if her heart was fluttering from the way her lungs were constricted or from the passion in Tony's lips.

"Now I can do it." Tony pulled away, but kept his hand on her chin.

"That was really bad." Scarlett couldn't help but smile despite the seriousness of the situation.

"I'm all about bad, Scarlett. Lead the way." Tony bowed his head comically and extended his arm out toward the next building.

"Finally, a gentleman." Scarlett patted him on his shoulder and then started toward the edge of the building. The gap was too far to jump across, so Scarlett instead searched for something to lie across the large gap that could be used as a makeshift bridge. "Look for a board, a rope… anything that could help us over there without breaking our neck."

"Alright MacGyver." The two searched the rooftop for anything that could help but unfortunately found nothing.

"Alright, new idea." Scarlett walked over to the roof entrance to the office building and tested the strength of the door. Unlike the MedCo facility, this door was made only of wood and not the heavy steel Scarlett hadn't felt the need to bother with. Instead of bashing the door in like she usually would've she turned her Tesla glove on, used the attachment Tony had created and she had perfected, to blast away the lock on the door.

"I see you got it working."

"Once I fixed your math."

"A wire was crossed, it wasn't my _math_." Tony whispered as they hurried inside the building. "What are we looking for?  
"Something to help us across the roof, remember? You really do have the attention span of a fly." Scarlett peered in the rooms on the top floor and found a conference room. Peeking under the long table in the center of the room Scarlett was pleased to find that it folded up neatly. "This is perfect."

"What about this?" Tony found a bundle of rope in one of the supply closets in the hallway and waved it in front of her.

"I knew there was a reason I loved you." Scarlett took the rope and threw it in her bag. It added more weight than she would've liked but it would help them scale the side of a building in a pinch if necessary.

"Other than the fact that I'm ruggedly handsome, you mean."

"The orgasms could have something to do with it too." Scarlett knew their relationship was much more complex than that but loved to joke around with him. It was easier to keep the tension and stress at bay despite the panicked situation when she was with Tony. She was learning that humor was his defense mechanism as much as it was hers.

"Well, you're not wrong." Tony smirked and then grabbed the front end of the table. As they maneuvered it into the hall together and back up the stairs toward the roof there was creaking from somewhere below and then echoes of shouting.

"Hurry," Scarlett whispered before rushing up the stairs. Unable to close the door that she'd blasted open she instead ran to the edge of the building. With Tony's help she turned the table around and then laid it face down over the edge of the roof balanced between the end of the next building and the one they were on. "They're searching buildings. It's going to look like Senegal in here by the time the morning has come."

"Then we better not be here for that long." Tony offered her a hand again and this time she took it and used it to get onto the table they'd laid across the roof. Carefully she tested the strength of the table and then jumped across when she was close enough. The less weight they put on it, the longer it would last to help them. Pulling the rope out of her bag, she loosely tied it around her waist and tossed the other end to Tony.

He was bulkier than she was and if he broke the table that was clearly not designed for assisting people in a high risk escape, then at least she'd be able to pull him back up with the rope and save him from falling to his death.

"Good idea." Tony grabbed the rope and tied it around his middle the same way that she had done. Once on the table, he slowly moved across it to test how it would handle his weight. It creaked and cracked but didn't give and he was able to make it far enough along so that he could jump as Scarlett had done onto the opposite roof.

Together they lifted the table and then carried it to the other end. It brought them successfully to the end of the business district where they abandoned the table on the roof and propped it in front of the door.

"Tony…" Scarlett began, peering over the side of the building. There was a line of trucks down below and people being ushered into the back of them.

"It's like a war zone." He peered over her shoulder again then grabbed her hand as she had done several times and led her to the side of the building. They would have to be careful to remain unseen but he knew that since they'd gotten that far then they could make it through the residential area just as stealthily. It'd be a bit harder on foot, but he had faith they could manage.

"It'll be chaotic enough down there for us to sneak through if we're careful and keep our heads low." Scarlett untied the rope from around her waist and then reached around Tony to do the same. She tied it onto the air conditioning unit nearby and made sure it was secure enough to handle their weight. "We only need to get to the fire escape. Don't go crazy Indiana."

"I won't. I'm tired enough after going over the buildings." Tony acknowledged his roughed up hands from grabbing the table and gripping onto the roof on several near misses. Scarlett picked up his hand and kissed his palm. "All better, I guess." Tony laughed and Scarlett nudged him before starting over the side of the building on the rope. With ease she walked down the side of the building and onto the fire escape. Then she waved for Tony to follow her.

He did so with the same ease he'd seen her respond with. Thankfully, he had practiced multiple escape techniques in case of a situation just like this. He wasn't the _best_ when it came to physical prowess but he could hold his own well enough. Once he got some down time, he'd make a note to train a bit harder. Together they hurried down the fire escape and then as quietly as they could, they let the ladder descend to the ground below.

Unnoticed still by the men in black searching the streets, Scarlett and Tony made it back onto the ground in the alleyway and hid in the shadows. Retrieving his phone Tony checked their path but was surprised when he couldn't get any signal.

"That's a problem." He whispered, tugging Scarlett back into the darkness.

"What?" Scarlett peeked at his phone and since she was unfamiliar with the interface, wasn't sure what she wasn't seeing other than the fact that the map they'd been provided with by Jarvis was gone.

"I can't get to Jarvis. They've jammed cellular signals."

"Damn," Scarlett cursed under her breath. "Come on… We can't sit and wait for it to come back so we'll have to make our own way." Tony nodded to agree and then the two hurried out of the alleyway and onto the chaotic streets. Scarlett clutched onto Tony's hand and pulled him to walk closely with her side by side.

"Jesus…" Tony muttered as several people were dragged away and toward trucks. People were revolting and rebelling, trying to get away from the forces of MedCo. Scarlett hid her long hair in the back of her coat, in hopes of not being recognized as easily.

"I should've known this would happen." Scarlett whispered beneath her breath, trying to avoid drawing attention to them as they hurried into the residential area of the town that was deafened by sirens. Thankfully Tony was close enough to hear her.

"There's no way you could've known that MedCo was using these people as test subjects. And there were even less chances for you to have guessed that they'd choose tonight to clean up." Tony kept aware of the men with guns out of the corner of his eye. Even if he wanted to summon his suit now, he couldn't.

"Don't pawn the blame onto circumstance. I _caused_ the quarantine to happen tonight because I was digging around. They want to capture me for whatever reason. I don't know… if it's revenge or what, but they're really pulling out all the stops." Scarlett was positive the guilt she'd felt over the past month had manifested into its own organ, eating away at her stomach on nearly a constant basis. Maybe she'd have to invest in some antacids to help with that too.

"Let's get out of here, okay? Then we can argue about who's at fault. All I know is that you're trying to put a _stop_ to this madness not worsen it." Tony hissed beneath his breath as they turned a corner and Scarlett led them through the chaotic streets. As they started toward the road that Scarlett had initially taken into the city they could see flashing lights at the end. The cleanup crew was setting up a barricade to prevent anyone from getting past them. They'd have to take more creative measures in order to get away.

Hurrying down the side streets and between houses to avoid being seen by the patrolling officers whose faces were all covered by either gas masks or contamination gear, they had to work their way back into the center of the residential district to try and regroup. Scarlett's mind was reeling between feeling guilty and trying to decide the best place to try and scale the surrounding wall of the town.

"I thought you were convinced that I was a woman on a mission to get revenge. A vendetta you called it, if I recall." Scarlett was stopped as Tony tugged her into the yard of one of the nearby homes.

"I was wrong." Tony looked at her seriously. "That was first and only thing my math has ever been off on. You're not out for blood and I know that. You're just trying to do the right thing." Scarlett stared up at Tony in disbelief. Finally they were starting to understand each other and get to the same page of the book. No longer was Tony a step behind Scarlett on her trail after MedCo and no longer did Scarlett need to defend her every move to keep from being called a vengeful psychopath.

"Luna?" A voice called and Scarlett had to recall why that name was important before she turned to respond to the voice. They were closer to the sirens so the voice was muffled, but she'd distinctly heard it. Ruben was standing in the doorway, behind them staring at her in surprise. He narrowed his eyes at Tony suspiciously and then turned back to Scarlett. "Luna! Luna, you must help! They're taking my mother! They have guns!"

"Eva?" Scarlett hurried away from Tony and over to where Ruben was standing in the doorway.

"Men in contamination suits came and dragged her away. She locked my door when the sirens went off and I couldn't help her! I had to break through. By the time I got out it was too late." He held his arm and it looked bloody and sore.

"God! Are you okay?" Scarlett motioned for Tony to come and join her. Urging Ruben to sit, Scarlett pulled his sleeve away and examined the arm with a grimace.

"Dislocated…" Tony scowled, sticking out his tongue and wrinkling up his nose at the grotesquely misplaced arm of the stranger who was calling his girlfriend Luna for whatever reason.

"Thanks, Sherlock." Scarlett whispered as she touched over the bloodied arm grateful for the gloves she wore.

"We must save my mother! What's happening Luna?" Ruben's terror made his voice tremble.

"I need you to try not to scream. I'm going to fix this for you." Scarlett looked at the Spanish man seriously and he nodded his head and instead focused on Tony who was definitely trying not to watch what Scarlett was up to. She placed her hand on his shoulder, and found the joint that had been misplaced. With a hard snap and a shove she popped Ruben's shoulder back into where it belonged. He grimaced and winced but bit his tongue instead of screaming so that attention wouldn't be drawn to them.

"We can't stay here… We've got to go. We're running out of time." Tony whispered beneath his breath, close to Scarlett's ear.

"Please, help me save my mother." Ruben furrowed his brow in desperation. "What are they doing? Why would they want her? She is a simple woman!"

"Remember those bad feelings you had about the company at the end of the river?" Scarlett began. Ruben nodded solemnly but she could see his hope crash around him as she spoke. "They poisoned your water. Now they're here to clean up. There's nothing you can do… I've got to leave. I can't stay here." Ruben seemed to realize more than Scarlett had divulged as she spoke.

"They're after you." Ruben stood up instantly and despite how pained his arm was, seemed prouder and stronger than he was before.

"My friend and I have to get away. I promise I'm going to do everything I can possibly do to try and get your mother free… but none of that will matter if I can't find whatever cure there is for what's in the water."

"You must go then." Ruben hurried to the edge of the yard and crouched low near the bushes. "Follow the river. There's a lake where the water stops flowing but before that the river loops around and there's a break in the wall. I used to play there and hop across the rocks when I was a child. We kept it secret so the police would never close the place up. You should be able to get across there. If they've blocked off the exits as I imagine they have it might be your only shot." Ruben nodded fervently, pointing in the direction he knew they must go.

"So we cross the river." Tony whispered. Ruben glanced up at Tony and recognition reflected in his gaze. Despite the awkward moment when Tony had realized that he'd been spotted for who he was, Ruben didn't say a word about it.

"Yes, but do not touch the water. If they are closing down our town to prevent contamination further then I imagine our prognosis is not very good." Ruben stood up straight and took a deep breath. "I will distract them so you have time. But you must hurry." Scarlett nodded her head fervently.

"Thank you Ruben…" Scarlett felt guilty for not being able to help the man save his mother. As much as she wanted to tell him to come with them she knew that if she did, she was putting others at risk because surely the man had not escaped infection. Tony tugged on her arm and urged her to get going.

"We're running out of time." Tony whispered in her ear and urged her onward. She nodded quickly, hesitated and then turned away from Ruben and started through the various yards of other homes. Several of the buildings had obviously already been raided while others were being boarded up by people who were trying to delay their capture by the men in the trucks.

Scarlett was trembling but trying not to focus on the guilt she felt and the chaos she had caused. How many times could she convince herself that none of this was actually her fault before it set in that most of it _was?_ Tony could sense that she was torturing herself and then pulled her to walk closer to him.

"He knew who I was." Tony whispered as they walked, following along the path of the river and making sure they kept it in sight. He hoped he could distract her a little. They didn't want to follow along the river precisely, it would make them too easy to find. Multiple times they had to lean against the houses or hide behind cars to avoid detection by the cleanup crew that was searching the town for something more than stray souls who hadn't been caught yet.

They were looking Scarlett and Tony.

"What?" Scarlett whispered as they crept alongside a building.

"He looked at me and _knew_ who I was. MedCo is going to use him against us."

"Damnit," Scarlett furrowed her brow and stopped, placing a hand to her forehead. "God damnit, Tony…"

"It's not my fault I'm so recognizable."

"I know… I know. It's not your fault." Scarlett shook her head and then started around the corner to follow the winding river. They had already managed to spend too much time in the town for her liking after the sirens went off; she doubted they would make it too much longer without detection.

"You know it's not your fault either, right?" Tony whispered as he followed her along.

"I know that we're in a situation where the line of mortality and guilt are blurred." Scarlett stood up straight and pointed toward the river and the gap where the wall was half cracked and crumbled. There wasn't a guard in sight. It was as deserted as Ruben had promised it would be.

"You're going to explain this later, right?" Tony nodded toward the road they'd traveled along.

"Yeah, I guess." Scarlett started toward the river. "We should go. This place isn't going to remain secret for very long. After we're cross the river we run as far as we can. Then we can backtrack to my car. I don't want to risk getting caught too close to the town's boundaries."

"Hold on." Tony walked to the edge of the river and pulled a small metallic box and several small white tabs out of his inner pocket. Carefully he dipped the tabs into the water and then placed them back into a small metallic case for later.

"What was that?"

"New way to test for contaminants. Absorbent tabs collect the sample and when I put them in that case they send off a signal to Stark Industries for identification. If we can't find the notes on how to reverse what MedCo did here, maybe there's a chance that my people _can_." Tony shoved the metallic case back into the pocket inside his jacket and then nodded toward the rocks on the river. "Think we can actually do this?"

"If a bunch of ten year olds screwing around can do it, then so can we, Tony." Scarlett coughed and leaned against the crumbling security wall of the town. She was exhausted and her fingers and toes were tingling from lack of oxygen. If she could make it just a little bit further then she could get the chance to _really_ rest.

"What I really meant, was can _you_ do this?" Tony leaned close to her and pressed his hand to her forehead in an attempt to see if she had a fever. But, he couldn't tell. Whatever magic mothers possessed to read a person's temperature by hand had escaped Tony.

"Yeah," Scarlett nodded and swatted his hand away. He looked at her skeptically. "I can do it, I'm a big girl."

"A big girl with a fever… I'm guessing." Tony looked down at his hand skeptically, disappointed that he hadn't been able to magically tell how she was feeling. With Jarvis offline he couldn't use the computer's skills to aid him.

"We'll deal with that once we're safe." Scarlett didn't wait for Tony to give her any approval and instead started onto the first rock that led across the river. "Be careful they're really slippery."

"You're the one not in sensible shoes." Tony shrugged and then started after Scarlett. He had to put his worry aside and focus on getting across. The water was rushing threateningly beneath them, licking at their shoes.

"Are you actually complaining that I've got heels on?" Scarlett yelped and nearly slipped when thunder cracked overhead and lightning struck nearby behind them. Tony reached out to help her regain her balance and took a look at the sky above. The clouds were threatening to burst at any second. The humidity in the air was thicker than it'd been the whole night.

"We're running out of time in more ways than you might think." Scarlett coughed, having to catch her breath after her near fall into the water. Thunder cracked frequently as the storm that had been building the entire day was finally coming to fruition. Finally, Scarlett made her way to the other side of the river. She waited for Tony, leaning against the opposite side of the crumbling wall and holding out her hand for him so that he could take it if need be.

He'd had a much easier time crossing the river than Scarlett had. He'd watched her struggle with her balance and could see her hands shaking but he assumed only from nerves. Whoever Eva and Ruben were, they were obviously important to Scarlett and he could tell she was still thinking about them and how she wouldn't be able to do much of anything to prevent their fate.

"Come on." Tony grabbed her arm one he was free of the river. Together they started at a run as far away from the town as they possibly could. It was a mile or so to the next city that was seemingly oblivious of the chaos going on just around the corner. Running was draining Scarlett faster than any of the previous physical activities had. Her heart was pounding in her ears and she couldn't hear anything except for a high pitched buzzing. On top of that her stomach was in knots from guilt and she was kicking herself for not having told Eva and Ruben to get away while they could even if it had risked contamination. They could've sent them back to a lab and used them to help find a cure for the illness. Instead she let them rot in the hands of MedCo or IPDS-whatever they were calling themselves now.

"This way," Scarlett whispered between coughs. Now that they were in the neighboring town they didn't have to run. She could lead them to the car she'd left in the parking lot of a busy all night shopping center and they could make a clean break to whatever hotel Tony had booked for them. Despite how they'd slowed down, Scarlett's heart continued to race. Her vision blurred as they walked, but thankfully she was still able to discern their location well enough. Years of escaping in the nick of time had taught her to be aware enough of important landmarks.

It didn't take long for them to find the car and as they did, Tony leaned against the passenger side.

"God, that was a close call." He was exhilarated, relieved, and terrified by what they'd been through. It was a confusing mix of emotions but he understood each of them. Not very often did he get a chance to run around and act like a spy and work together with Scarlett so seamlessly so it left him feeling elated. He was relieved that they had managed to escape without being caught but he was also terrified by what they'd seen. MedCo had been up to no good in the arms and munitions department but knowing they were messing around with genetics and biology scared the hell out of Tony. In his experience, messing with the human biology _never_ ended well. He'd heard horror stories from his father about the later attempts at creating another super soldier and knew that he'd much rather rely on technology to be his aid than superhuman capabilities.

"It was." Scarlett leaned against the driver's side door and started fumbling through her bag to locate the rental car's keys. Her fingers were numbed and there were black spots in her vision. She'd have to ask Tony to drive which was fine since she didn't know where they were going anyway.

"We make a pretty good team when you let me help you, though you must admit." Tony smirked, waiting for her to unlock the car so that they could finish their clean getaway. Scarlett didn't respond and he couldn't blame her. When he got the chance, he was going to sneak a blood sample from her to send off to his lab. Not that it'd be easy to get a blood sample from his girlfriend, but he was planning on finding a way. He wanted to make sure that she wasn't infected with whatever was in that water. If she was, then it was likely he was infected too.

Scratch that, it was a certainty that he was infected if Scarlett was. Maybe he'd send his blood off to get tested too, just in case.

"Come on. We can order room service at the hotel. Sooner we get there the better… Pretty sure my hands are never going to be the same again after being on those rooftops." Tony joked but when Scarlett didn't even groan in annoyance, he became concerned. Slowly he walked around the car so that he could figure out what she was up to. Expecting her to be doing something ridiculous and James Bond-like as he always found her doing he was surprised to instead find her passed out on the ground holding the keys to the rental car.

"Scarlett!" Tony ran to her side and checked her pulse immediately. His phone buzzed in his pocket instantly and at first he ignored it but then realized it was likely Jarvis coming back online. Once sure that Scarlett's heart was still beating and she was breathing okay he acknowledged his phone.

"Sir, I don't mean to alarm you but Scarlett's oxygen intake rate is below normal." Jarvis ignored the mute function that had been triggered on the phone while they'd been in harm's way.

"You conveniently decide to come back only when she's in trouble? You're hopeless." Tony joked, but he felt no pleasure considering what was going on. Carefully he picked Scarlett up and cradled her momentarily in his arms. After what she'd been through, he couldn't blame her for passing out.

"I was just looking out for Miss Damien, sir."

"Sure, that's it." Tony placed the phone against Scarlett's chest and then leaned his forehead against hers. "Should I take her to a hospital?" Tony whispered solemnly as he let his girlfriend's limp form melt into his.

"I don't think she would like that very much."

"What I was asking is do I _need_ to take her to a hospital." Tony clarified then turned his attention back to the pale face of his unconscious girlfriend.

"I do not think that is necessary. Her oxygen levels are slowly rising."

"Okay." Tony was torn. If he took her to a hospital it would be chaos. There would be press all over him for bringing some unconscious woman into an international hospital after being seen following her for several weeks in the media. It was much easier for him to deal with this privately. Carefully he opened the back door of the sedan that Scarlett had rented and laid her down. He buckled her in so that she wouldn't roll around while he was driving the unfamiliar car and then got into the driver's seat.

Once he had gotten them safely to the hotel he would be able to get a better grasp on what they were dealing with.


	13. Stubborn Nature

_Creak._

Scarlett's senses were muddled but she could still hear faint noises in the distance, slowly growing louder as they neared. Shaking her head in tiny motions in hopes of rousing from the fog in her mind, she struggled against the infinite blackness for sight but failed. Maybe it was best to continue resting instead of fighting it.

When _had_ she fallen asleep anyway? Hadn't she been running away from the quarantine zone with Tony? Had she passed out somewhere along the line or did she not remember falling asleep after escaping to safety? The former was more likely even if she couldn't recall the details. It didn't matter at the moment; Scarlett couldn't fight the urge to rest and gave back into the unconsciousness threatening her.

_Pitter-patter._

_ Squeak._

_ Scratch._

_ SLAM._

Scarlett's eyes snapped open immediately in response to the threatening sound. Instinctively she reached for the gun that she usually kept on the night stand next to her in hotel rooms only to find she couldn't move her arms much at all to search for it. Heart suddenly in her throat, Scarlett held her breath to listen for what had made the sound but heard no further scratches or slams. What she did hear was nearly as unsettling.

The drip-drip-dripping nearby set her nerves on fire. Each splash against cold metal made her twitch uncomfortably. It was a form of torture that she recognized all too well. Sometimes the dripping freezing cold water had be on her forehead, sometimes on her stomach and sometimes off in the distance at the other end of the room where she would be unable to do anything about it.

"Not again," her voice was feeble and cracked, her throat dry and aching in ways that she could only recall in the furthest reaches of her memory. Coughing in hopes of finding relief, Scarlett knew she'd find none. Nothing she had ever done while in captivity had helped relieve the misery she suffered through. Feet aching and bleeding from the wounds she repeatedly opened each time she bent them or tried to take a step, Scarlett stood up straight to take some of the weight off of her shoulders. Only her toes would barely touch the ground, but it would be enough to keep her shoulders from dislocating.

In the center of the room she hung from shackles attached to the ceiling, arms extended about two feet apart from each other. She'd attempted escape various times before that point and the luxury of resting on the terrible cot she'd been given had been revoked. While she had once loathed it, she missed it. The cot seemed like a luxury now that she was trapped hanging from the center of the room waiting until someone would come in and either take her somewhere else to torture her or come in the room with some archaic whip to beat her with.

Torture was definitely topping the list of Scarlett's worst memories and she had hoped beyond hope that it would never be repeated, even in her mind. After having gone for so long without giving the incident in Afghanistan a second thought, she had hoped that it was something she was too strong to suffer further consequences from.

Unfortunately she'd been wrong.

Far more wrong than she could have ever anticipated. How devious her thoughts were to betray her at such a crucial time of her life. The traumatic side effects of captivity and torture couldn't have waited just a _little_ longer and come at a more opportune time? For example, a time when she _wasn't_ in pursuit of an underhanded, seedy corporation run by two sick sons of bitches out to kill her and leave her with a legacy of nothing but death and mayhem.

"It's not real," whispering once again the mantra that never seemed to offer any relief Scarlett hung her head down and closed her eyes again. Her vision had been spotty and her head was swimming too badly to see much of anything. The warm trickle of something down the back of her neck reminded her of the blow to the head that had caused her to black out repeatedly for days on end. It had been both a blessing and a curse. Escape attempts were easily thwarted when she couldn't remain conscious or randomly became sick to her stomach in the hallway. On the other hand, she didn't mind passing out when someone came to whip her repeatedly or shock her with low currents of electricity in hopes of damaging her nerves and getting her to talk.

Scarlett was armed with the fact that she _knew_ she was dreaming, so at least she had hope to cling to. Usually her subconscious would do something drastic to try and convince her otherwise, but no surprises came at her at least not for the time being.

"No Tony around this time." Her words were slurred so she cleared her throat only to find it filled with blood and phlegm. Gagging at the mental image of what was sitting in the back of her throat, Scarlett refused to swallow and instead spit the gunk out to the side. It was disgusting, but a necessary evil. Better on the floor than in her throat. Her voice offered her comfort. If she could talk herself out of the pain that was developing in what seemed like every part of her body then maybe she could work her way into waking up and escaping her nightmare.

That wouldn't be easy.

Now that she had fought off the foggy vale of unconsciousness, Scarlett was reminded of the awful wounds she'd spent weeks recovering from. Her feet had been some of the worst considering how she'd continuously destroyed them in escape attempts but the lacerations along her back from constant whipping hadn't been easy to deal with either. There had been no comfortable way for her to lay down for ages.

The last bout of torture must have happened recently, at least in the recesses of Scarlett's mind. Her back was bare and dripping and she was pained every time she moved which was far too frequently for her tastes. It was far more difficult to remain still when she was hanging from the ceiling. Chains rattled overhead and she was reminded suddenly of the noise that has roused her from unconsciousness in the first place.

Something had dropped, fallen, or smashed but she couldn't quite remember which. Either way, Scarlett couldn't recall such a thing _actually_ having happened while she'd been held in captivity. Then again, she hadn't been _voluntarily_ capable of recalling much of anything outside of her terrible nightmares.

She didn't _want_ to remember any of this had happened. As far as she was concerned, the past was in the past and that was where it belonged. Apparently her subconscious had different ideas.

Her vision finally cleared enough for her to focus on her surroundings. The room was dark but in the shadows she could make out the prison she'd memorized in her escape attempts. There was a loose brick in the corner still secure, hiding her various analyses on planned escapes. At least now she had a timeline. There would be one more attempt to escape, failed, before she would actually manage to get away. Her hiding space had been located after she'd tried to escape from the shackles in the center of the room and each loose brick had been removed.

Scraping sounds outside the door drew her attention away from the loose brick. Someone or something was coming toward her from the hallway, dragging something heavy behind them. The scraping was more irritating than the dripping in the corner of the room. Her chains rattled as she attempted to cover her ears to hide from the new sound.

Something was coming.

The room grew colder, Scarlett's heart raced and panic gripped her chest. She had to get out of there _immediately_. But how would she manage that? Her ankles were bound with heavy rope and tied to a hook on the floor and her were hands shackled on either side of her overhead. Scarlett was pretty stuck where she was. How had she escaped such a contraption in the past? It took her a few seconds, but the details slowly returned to her memory.

Her arm had been injured. That was how she'd escaped. It seemed to be a ridiculous notion, but it was _why_ Scarlett's arm was bleeding that was the key. When she'd been taken in last for "interrogation" which was more or less men in masks asking Scarlett repeatedly who she worked for along with a series of questions she had no answers to then beating the hell out of her once she yielded no information, she'd put up a fight.

For awhile she'd stopped fighting to avoid causing more pain than necessary, but this particular time something had been said that had pissed her off enough to lash out at her captors. What was it that had been said to her? Did she _really_ have time to dig that information up when whatever was making that terrible dragging sound was approaching closer to her doorway? She expected to see its shadow any time now but nothing came.

No one came.

Instead Scarlett focused on the wound on her arm, which was exactly where she expected it to be. It was bloody and looked infected, probably because it _was_ terribly infected and at her own fault at that. She'd purposely hidden something in a wound she sustained during the fight she'd caused with the two men who had been interrogating her. There were steel cables attached to her interrogation chair, keeping it in place on the floor. During the fight, one of the cables had come loose and feathered, wire thin pieces of steel stabbing dangerously at whoever got close to them.

When Scarlett had managed to disarm one of the men and obtain their knife, only after having taken a blow from it to her arm, she'd seized the opportunity to steal several thin pieces of the steel. She wanted to hide them on her person but knew when she was inevitably overpowered she would be strip searched and then returned to her cell. So instead when she'd been knocked to the ground she'd feigned unconsciousness and then slid the wires within her wound. It'd hurt like a son of a bitch but it would be worth it in the long run. The wires were just the right size for picking locks, like the ones around her wrist.

Unfortunately, the metal hadn't been clean and was covered with god knows how many months of rust and muck and it had irritated the wound on her arm further. Eventually it had been one of the root causes of the terrible infection she'd suffered in the hospital. With the way she was bound and standing barely on her feet, Scarlett didn't have enough slack in the chains to reach the wound on her arm. How had she done it? Closing her eyes and trying to remember as the scraping of metal against concrete got louder and closer, Scarlett grimaced.

She'd lifted herself as much as she could on one of the chains, the other extended as far as it could go and then used her teeth to pull out the metal hidden beneath her skin. It had been a gruesome task, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Heart pounding in her chest, loud enough to drown out the scraping, Scarlett grabbed onto the chains with sore hands. One of her fingers was broken and refused to bend so she spent several precious seconds cursing about that. As she managed to hold her body up despite the horrible pain in her disjointed shoulders from having hung for so long, Scarlett couldn't even manage a John McClane joke to ease her tension.

She had to dig with her teeth through torn flesh to find the end of the wire. Disgusted by the effort she had to put into escape, Scarlett ignored her gag reflex. Finally she managed to find her treasure and pull. Pain nearly made her vomit, but she swallowed the acid in her throat and kept tugging until finally the bunch of the wires she'd hidden in her flesh, as short and thin as they were, were free and in her mouth between her teeth. She managed to maneuver it easily from her lips to her fingers and seconds later had broken through the lock with the skill of someone who had done so on many occasions. Her arm hung limply at her side and she swung on the other chain uncomfortably.

"God…" Scarlett had to continue reminding herself that the pain she felt wasn't _real_. The anxiety she felt thanks to whatever demon was lurking outside her doorway waiting for her wasn't real. Nothing she felt now was real.

Except that the pain had _been_ real.

It wasn't a figment of her imagination or an exaggeration of her subconscious. Scarlett had felt that pain. She'd suffered through every second of it and it had hurt far worse than any memory could.

"Not now," she growled, reaching up with her damaged arm to release the shackle on her right hand. Preparing herself for what was next Scarlett unlocked the shackle and crashed to the ground. Her feet were too weak to catch her so she had to deal with falling on her side. The pain from her back made her wince and arch as she tried to fight it off. "Not real… It's _not_… not real… just signals from the brain, false pain… not real." Scarlett could repeat all she wanted that the agony was simply caused by misfiring nerves, but it didn't make it hurt any less.

"Miss Damien." Scarlett snapped her head up and away from the floor, looking instantly toward the doorway. In the shadows stood the silhouette of a man, with a voice she knew very well. The Russian accent was unmistakable. Mikhail Ivanov, one of the three owners of MedCo, who she was sure was a sociopath, was standing in the doorway even if she couldn't see his face. The stocky but strong man was dragging something heavy behind him. What she had suspected were chair legs dragging against the ground was most certainly _not_ a chair. What it was, was something Scarlett couldn't make out thanks to the contrast of bright light that suddenly turned on behind it.

Sitting up immediately and scuttling to her feet, Scarlett nearly fell down again when she realized her feet were still bound by rope. Reaching to loosen the bindings on her legs Scarlett knew she'd run out of time before she could get free. Why on earth did MedCo have to show up in her dreams about something completely unrelated? Wasn't it torture enough to experience, well, _torture?_ But no, MedCo had to show up and remind her of the guilt she was sure she already had enough reminding of in the first place.

Life could be a real dick when it wanted to be.

"It looks like you could use some help." Mikhail was standing over her before Scarlett could manage the ropes free of her own accord. Not stopping her tugging on them and trying to pull her feet through the loops she stared up at him defiantly.

"You're not real." Scarlett choked on her words again. No matter how many times she repeated that the horrific experience _wasn't_ real, her mind betrayed her. What if it _was_ real? What if when she'd passed out something terrible had happened to Tony? Maybe they _had_ experimented on her in the past and had discovered the torture she'd experienced in Afghanistan. But how would they know about the fibers in her arm? How would they know what wounds to recreate? The damage done to Scarlett would have taken more time than what she was sure had passed.

No, this had to be a dream. There were no other options.

And _yet…_

Scarlett trembled from head to toe with fear. What was the point of hiding it when she was terrified? Of course she was scared. What person in their right mind wouldn't be? Just because she was scared didn't mean she was giving up. What was it that was said about courage? It was not the absence of fear, but the strength to continue on despite it.

"We both know that is not true." Mikhail smiled at her but his eyes were cold and malicious. Scarlett managed to slip one foot away from the ropes, but Mikhail grabbed her by her chin and forced her close to him before she could pull further. "You still have work to do, Scarlett. Your contract is… _unfulfilled._"

Scarlett didn't respond, instead she wrapped her fingers tighter around the wires still in her hand. It wasn't much of a weapon but it was better than nothing. Hands trembling, heart pounding in her ears, Scarlett gritted her teeth as Mikhail tightened his grip on her face and turned her head to the side to look her over.

"Such a shame you had to resist. You were so promising. Do you remember what I said to you when we last met?" Mikhail clicked his tongue in disappointment then turned her back to face him. "Scarlett, what are we going to do with you? You must learn from your mistakes, you know. You must pay for your crimes. Criminals do not go free."

"Criminals?" Scarlett scoffed, coughing, the familiar cling in her throat returning. "_I'm_ the criminal?"

"Yes, Scarlett. Your hands are dripping with blood." He whispered with a smile still on his face.

Twisting her left arm between her and Mikhail and using the little strength she had left, Scarlett forced his hand away from her face with her elbow. Wires still clenched in her right hand she lunged at him and shoved them straight into his eye as far and hard as she could.

"It's _Miss Damien _to you, asshole." Mikhail howled in pain but didn't fall back the way Scarlett had expected him too. Blood oozed from his wound but he grabbed quickly at her throat with inhuman strength.

On his feet, before Scarlett even had a chance to react, he shoved her hard against the brick wall at the far end of the cell. Scarlett grabbed at his wrist and with her other hand jammed the wires into his eye further. But Mikhail persisted despite what should have been a crippling wound and threw her to the ground. The rope was still stuck around one of her feet, so using it as leverage she dragged herself quickly across the floor and away from Mikhail. But he was too fast, faster than was humanly possible, and picked her up off of the ground by one arm. The pain was too much and she screamed in misery. His fingers dug into the wound she'd hidden the wires in as he lifted her up. He then tossed her easily through the doorway and over the long metallic object he'd once been dragging.

It looked like a coffin to her, but made of steel and with several glass panels equipped with an electronic lock unlike anything she'd ever seen before. Quickly Scarlett got onto her knees and attempted to get to her feet. The rope had finally come loose during her struggle against Mikhail.

When she made to turn down the hall and run for it, she had to stop short when Mikhail appeared in her way. How had he managed to get around her without her seeing him and so quickly? He grabbed her again by the throat and lifted her off the ground with impeccable ease. Choking against his hand, Scarlett did the only thing she could do, which was dig her nails into his wrists. Eye still oozing, Mikhail glared at her. His face had changed, his features twisted and malformed, more demonic than human.

Throwing her to the ground again, Scarlett's head crashed against the metallic pod and her vision faltered. Mikhail stood over her, grabbed her by her hair and forced her to look into the coffin through the glass. At first Scarlett couldn't make out what was inside, but then she saw it clearly.

"What do you plan to do, _Miss Damien_? You have a contract to fulfill." Mikhail hissed into her ear.

Staring back at her from behind the glass was something terrifying and familiar. _She_ was inside the metallic prison. Not quite her, but some horrible experimental version of her. There were scars and tubes lining her skin and her eyes were an unearthly green. Covering her mouth to stifle a disgusted cry, Scarlett shoved Mikhail away with the other hand and scooted across the floor in a panic. Closing her eyes she curled up with her knees close to her chest and gripped at her hair.

"It's not real. Oh, it _can't_ be real. Holy hell…" Scarlett felt her breath getting shorter and her stomach lurching. The cling in her chest worsened and the heat on her skin from battle and pain became a chill.

Someone grabbed her arm and Scarlett jumped alert and instantly pushed her attacker onto their back defensively. Blinking her eyes open Scarlett was surprised to see Tony looking up at her from an unfamiliar bedspread. His eyes were wide and in his hand he held something dark and wet. Clearly, he hadn't expected her to jump at him. Dripping with sweat, but terribly cold at the same time, Scarlett couldn't seem to relax or catch her breath. The more she tried to breathe, the worse the cling became so she started to cough, turning her head away from Tony so she wouldn't cough in his face.

"Hey! Hey… You were sweating… I was just trying to help!" Tony took several seconds to gather his wits and find the proper words to try and ease his girlfriend. The fear he saw in her eyes near the river was magnified by fifty. "You were having a nightmare, I guess…" He knew it was a touchy subject but there was no other explanation for her actions. Scarlett had always been paranoid but he'd woken her up before without her trying to throttle him. "Scarlett? Are you okay?"

"_Tony…_" Scarlett was struggling to break free of the haze of her nightmare. Each time she had them, the haze lasted longer. But the cling in her throat brought her back and she released Tony from her grip and rolled onto her back. Wiping her hand against her sweaty forehead she tried to catch her breath after realizing she'd been holding it. She was feverish and felt sick to her stomach, probably from the nightmare. The terrible memory had become a faded memory now that she'd woken up. The longer she stayed awake, the further away it went.

She didn't want to think about how terrible it had been more than she had to.

"That was unexpected. I've had a lot of women jump on me, but none of them ever looked terrified." Tony wasn't joking for once. Sitting up and dusting his shirt off casually, he readjusted on the opposite end of the bed. He had the lights dimmed as not to disturb her while she slept and the curtains drawn.

Scarlett turned to face him at long last, giving him a look that clearly told him how not funny that comment was. As he reached to wipe whatever he had in his hand against her forehead she winced and pulled away defensively. Phantom pain from her nightmare reminded her vaguely of some kind of torture, but not enough to give her exact details of what kind.

"Hey,_ relax._"

"Right." Scarlett nodded and turned her gaze back at him.

"It's a very _non-lethal_ wet cloth to ease your fever." Tony waved the dark colored cloth in front of her so she could see that he was in no way, shape, or form trying to hurt her. Scarlett already _knew_ that, but couldn't seem to shake whatever defense mechanism had managed to kick in while she slept.

"Okay." Scarlett coughed again and reached for her jacket pocket only to find that she was no longer wearing her jacket. In fact, she wasn't wearing much of anything. She was in one of Tony's t-shirts; an old Black Sabbath one with faded lettering on it. "I'd be sorry for attacking you if you hadn't stuck me in this thing."

"I couldn't help but remember how much you _loved_ Ozzy Osbourne." Tony brushed her hair away from her forehead before dabbing the cool, wet cloth against her skin. Scarlett leaned into the touch of the wet cloth that soothed the burning of her flesh. The illness she'd contracted had worsened after she'd passed out. It had taken her a few minutes to remember what had happened, but now that she realized she was safe, it came back to her.

"Blue Oyster Cult _forever._" Scarlett held up her forefinger and pinkie in the shape of devil horns and then relaxed against the bed.

"Still having nightmares?" Tony brushed the cold cloth against her cheeks and down her neck, seeing how much she relished in the sensation of it. Scarlett didn't exactly respond but instead shrugged her shoulders and concentrated on Tony's actions. "Not healthy you know… Repression and all that. It's not doing you any favors."

"Sure, you're the picture of perfect mental health so I should definitely be taking advice from you." Despite her sarcasm, Scarlett smiled. "I didn't mean to pounce on you like that."

"Just next time reward me with sex or make sure my pants are off or something, okay?" Tony smirked, pulling the cloth away but lingering close to Scarlett. Whatever she'd contracted clearly wasn't contagious or he would have started feeling some symptoms by now. Even if it was he'd decided that catching whatever illness would be worth it. Scarlett would take care of him like he'd taken care of her and that was something he could look forward to.

That was a pretty significant revelation for Tony Stark, that someone else's well being was worth putting his own in jeopardy.

"I'll do my best." Scarlett closed her eyes and then leaned her head to the side. "Why did you change my clothes?"

"Well, that skirt you were wearing, as nice as your legs looked in it, didn't look very comfortable. Plus you were sweating and it was gross." Tony grimaced.

"You just wanted to see me naked."

"Guilty. I'd be an idiot not to."

"Nice hotel room." Scarlett sat up carefully, and wiped her hand over her face, trying to shake off the little bit of grogginess that remained. Her head was in a fog, and no matter what she tried, she couldn't seem to shake it.

"It is, very nice in fact. I hope you feel better soon so that we can enjoy it for a few minutes… or hopefully more than a few minutes." Tony nudged her gently but moved with her to keep an eye on her. "You're very sick."

"And yet you're still making sex jokes." Scarlett coughed, covering her mouth and eyeing Tony.

"I had to do something to ease the tension after you nearly killed me."

"Oh I didn't even hurt you, you big wimp."

"Remind me to tell Pepper that one of her suggestions for relieving a sick person nearly put me on my death bed."

"So dramatic. You poor, poor baby." Scarlett laughed but then ended up in a fit of coughing when laughter built the cling in her throat back up. "Don't make me laugh…"

"You know you like it." Tony brushed her hair away from her skin again and leaned his chin over her shoulder with his lips pouted. "How are you feeling? Any better? I know you keep denying that anything is actually wrong but you're really sick so let's both drop the act."

"Smart ass." Scarlett lazily leaned her head against his and closed her eyes. She knew she should be on her guard and preparing her next move in the fight against MedCo but she felt sick and tired and wanted nothing more than to rest against Tony until she felt better. For the time being, she was hell bent on recovering or at least letting Tony know how grateful she was that he kept following her and looking out for her despite her stubborn nature. She wanted him to know that she would do the same for him.

"That didn't answer either of my questions."

"I'm still too tired to tell. I can't shake it."

"Probably because of that nightmare. It must have been pretty bad, huh?" Tony spoke hopefully, hinting for her to share a bit of what was eating at her. Scarlett nodded her head but didn't respond verbally. A nod was more than Tony had gotten from her in regards to her nightmares so Tony wasn't about to fight it. "Hey, Jarvis?"

"Yes, sir." From the laptop sitting on a coffee table across the room came the familiar voice of Tony's personal computer system. Scarlett smiled fondly at the sound of it.

"How's she doing?"

"Heart rate is returning to normal, oxygen intake is at one hundred percent but temperature is still spiking to 101.6. I'm afraid you're still sick Miss Damien."

"Scarlett, please." She smiled just slightly and then leaned a bit to the side, forcing Tony's chin away from her shoulder. Looking back at him she considered her next move. "So, it turns out that I might _actually_ be sick and not just because you and your computer are insisting I am."

"You probably shouldn't go running off until you're better." Tony rested his hand on her leg. Scarlett didn't make a big deal of it, but found it endearing that Tony couldn't seem to stop touching her. When did they become school children in a romantic endeavor? Why did it feel so natural to be this way with someone? They both wondered the same thing.

"I can't." Scarlett nodded to agree with that and Tony was very surprised that she had. "And I don't want to." Scarlett didn't think that she'd run off again, even if she wasn't sick.

"You should see a doctor. I know a guy out here… pretty great references and I'm _me_ so… he'll make a house call." Tony got up and picked up his phone from across the room before returning to the bed.

"Don't push your lucky, buddy." Scarlett laughed a little and coughed once again, muttering something about being frustrated. "A doctor is going to make me rest longer than I actually can." The truth was that she was worried a doctor would recommend she go to a hospital. What if something was _really_ wrong with her? She didn't want to know.

"Well you know they do that for a reason."

"Would you _really_ stay in bed for a week if a doctor made you?"

"Only if you stayed with me." Tony shrugged, sitting back down on the edge of the bed.

"It's not the kind of staying in bed that involves sex."

"Okay, that's just not fair."

"I don't need a doctor. It's just a cold I let get the best of me." Despite her words, Scarlett looked away from Tony. What if it wasn't a cold? What if it was the result of something horrible done by MedCo? Even if it was an irrational fear it was still terrifying. Scarlett didn't want to wind up some bloody carcass of an experiment like the people in the facility. Resting her head in her hands, she stiffened up slightly when she felt Tony touch her back comfortingly.

"You'll get used to it eventually." Tony whispered in her ear and then laid back on the bed lazily. "You're thinking about the quarantine aren't you?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Scarlett shivered when his hand gently crawled up her back beneath the shirt. Usually she'd swat him away, but it actually felt nice for his cold hands to touch against her warm clammy skin. She'd expected him to argue with her further about seeing a doctor and yet he hadn't.

"Because I've been thinking about it, too."

"Oh really?" Scarlett turned to look over her shoulder at him. His gaze followed his hand as he trailed up her back and down again.

"I don't think that you're infected with whatever that was." Tony cleared his throat and then brushed his hand over his scruff while he considered the best way to explain what was in his mind and in his heart.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Well, you only started showing symptoms recently and… I've been pretty on top of you, literally, since I found you in South Africa. I haven't shown any symptoms so I think whatever you have is… a bug you picked up and… I got lucky enough not to get it or it's something that doesn't spread normally."

"I don't know Tony. I don't know what to think anymore."

"I think you're going to be okay." Tony crawled closer on the bed and lifted the back of her shirt, pressing his lips to her skin. She got the shivers all the way up her spine from his scruff against her flesh. "Goose bumps… every time." He whispered, gently nipping at her skin.

"I hope you're right." Scarlett shivered and then reached to grab his hand to try and urge him to stop messing with her backside. "I'm sick, Tony…"

"And yet you _won't_ see a doctor." Tony nuzzled his nose against her back and then sat up, slipping his arms around her.

"You know that seeing a doctor is something we don't have time for." Scarlett leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. "I'll rest for a little while but there's too much to be done."

"I had a feeling you'd say that so I talked to a doctor in Malibu that I'm familiar with." Tony rested his chin against her shoulder again, becoming rather fond of the action.

"What, are you taking secret blood work while I'm sleeping now?"

"I thought about it." Tony laughed, but then glanced down at his hands. "But these nightmares you're having changed my mind. Someone did something nasty and you won't tell me what it was. Considering that, I made the decision not to violate you further. I'll ask for your blood if I need it. I'm not going to be another person that manipulates you. At least that's what I'd want if the tables were turned."

"Actually, I do believe I was the one who pointed out you should likely not disturb her while she slumbered." Jarvis chimed in. "You were just wondering where to get the blood from." Scarlett laughed and leaned against Tony's chest, looking up at him expectantly.

"Well yeah, _but_ then I realized that your nightmares were somehow related to something nasty that either MedCo did or something you're not telling me so… I drew the rest of the conclusion myself. Smart ass," Tony clarified. "It's all because he has this crush on you that he feels the need to constantly one up me. It's an intelligence system-human romance and he wants you to like him better than you like me."

"Jarvis, I like you better than I like him." Scarlett immediately responded. Tony pouted and Jarvis didn't respond.

"I'm starting to think _you_ have a crush on _him_."

"Well, he is rather charming." Scarlett closed her eyes, exhaustion still overwhelming her. After sending her signals to rest for days, Scarlett's body had finally won the battle against her determination. She had no choice but to rest until her energy had returned. Maybe it was the comfort of Tony's arms that had allowed her to finally give in, or maybe it was the nightmares scaring her half to death.

Or maybe she just plain didn't want to leave Tony again. She'd stay in his arms and they'd figure out where to go from there.

"I'm pretty charming too, you know."

"And I'm dating _you,_ remember?" Scarlett picked up his hand and kissed his palm. "I love you… but I love Jarvis too. If he was a real guy you'd be in trouble."

"I'd win anyway." Tony smirked, looking down at her.

"Weren't you saying you talked to a doctor before you got off track?"

"I don't know how I get anything done." Tony shook his head in disbelief.

"I've been saying that since we met. I think Pepper usually forces you to get things done."

"I think so too, but you're doing a pretty good job of it."

"And you don't even have to pay me." Lazily pulling blankets up over them both, Scarlett urged him to lean back. "Again, off track…"

"Well, I got you some antibiotics. Told a friend about your symptoms and he sent them to me overnight." Tony brushed his hands through her hair and when she went to stop him, he picked up her hands and urged them to his chin to touch over his goatee.

"Overnight? And they're here already?"

"You've been asleep for a grand total of forty six hours." Tony frowned, though he tried to sound amused by the fact that she'd slept for so long. Multiple times he'd considered taking her to the hospital but had resisted when Jarvis had reminded him of the consequences of his actions. Instead, he'd called Pepper and gotten her advice on the matter. Even if Scarlett was still on Pepper's shit list, the woman had been willing to offer advice and had even called the doctor in Malibu for him.

"What?" Scarlett sat up straight and pulled away from his arms. "How long?"

"About two days. You passed out after we got away from that place and I brought you back here. You were out cold and I was too nervous to try and wake you. My guess is you overdid it and your body is playing catch up. The doctor thought so too or I would've brought you to the emergency room."

"Jeez," Scarlett moved to swing her legs off the side of the bed but Tony pulled her back into his arms and urged her to lay down with him. She didn't much complain about that but felt guilty for having slept for so long. After making such a big deal about how they didn't have any time to waste with MedCo up to such nefarious things, two days was a long time to throw away. But then again, if she continued pursuing MedCo in her current state then she would likely be killed or worse.

The "or worse" seemed much scarier now than it had ever been.

"MedCo can wait." Tony whispered, lazily tangling his hands in her hair.

"For once Tony…" Scarlett brushed her hand against the side of his neck and began to drift. The fever made her shiver and Tony was warm, minus his hands that had been chilled from the cold cloth. "You're right. MedCo can wait."


	14. Feverish Confessions

Mind still caught in a fog, Scarlett woke up to the sound of Tony's low voice at the other end of the room. It took her a few seconds but she eventually realized he was on the phone with someone. Her head was pounding but she felt significantly warmer and in far less of a fog than when she'd fallen back to sleep. The cling in her throat made her cough but she pulled the blanket up over her mouth to mute the sound. Peeking one eye open, she saw the casually dressed handsome man at the other end of the room pacing back and forth and smiled. As her vision cleared the pounding in her head lessened. On his ear Tony wore a small headset that was blinking the occasional bright blue. If she didn't already know it, she would've guessed at this moment that Tony was nothing more than an average business man.

An average business man with a _very_ cute butt. Scarlett readjusted on the bed so she could better watch him pace. For the first time in a long time she'd woken up not thinking about MedCo, death, betrayal, or guilt. No, the sound of Tony's voice had helped to clear her thoughts and distract her with something much different than she had ever anticipated waking up to.

Scarlett had woken up in a way she'd never woken up before.

She was happy.

She was in love.

It still felt odd and foreign for Scarlett to even consider the notion that love existed. There had been a time when she thought love was a game that pathetic, desperate people played in poor attempts to ignore their insignificance in the greater scheme of things in hopes of feeling fulfilled. Love had never been in the cards for _her_. Hell, she'd rolled her eyes at people who claimed that they loved anyone, including their family. Family meant obligation, not love. And yet here she was, mooning over the man at the other end of the room.

Why did love have to actually be a thing? Her plans had been going so well before she'd met Tony Stark.

Well, that wasn't true at all. That had been a damned lie. Things had been going terribly before she'd met Tony. If he hadn't saved her in Africa she wasn't sure what would've become of her. Most likely she would've become one of the experiments she'd read reports on at the facility. Her stomach churned at the notion. As much as she wanted to have faith she would've found a way out, with a chemical burn and a gunshot wound it would've been nearly impossible. Meeting Tony, as conflicting and painful as it had been, had given her direction and more of a reason to survive outside of the next job.

Before she could further contemplate the maze of emotions she'd developed in the last month, she felt someone's hand in her hair and nearly jumped a mile. While logic dictated it was Tony, being touched casually was still something she was getting used to.

"Someday you're not going to attack me when I touch you, right?" Tony joked, but lazily ran his fingers through her hair. He'd noticed her watching him across the room and had slowly made his way over once his phone call had ended. Somewhere along the line he had ditched the earpiece.

"That remains to be seen." Scarlett cocked a curious eyebrow but then leaned into his comforting touch. Now that he was closer, the more remarkable things about Tony were visible including his arc reactor which he made no attempts to hide when he was with her. Before they'd gotten comfortable around each other he'd doubled up on shirts to keep the reactor out of plain view but now he didn't seem to care as much and wore a plain t-shirt that the arc shone through brilliantly.

"How are you feeling?" Tony's fingers brushed over her forehead in an attempt to feel her temperature.

"Better… but still sick." Scarlett closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. She laughed when he pulled his hand away and pouted.

"I can't tell if you have a fever or not. Pepper said I'd be able to tell but no matter _what_ I do you always feel hot."

"It's cute that you're trying, if that means anything." Scarlett yawned and rolled onto her back before carefully sitting up. The soreness from her various endeavors over the last few days had finally caught up with her. The plan had been originally not to deal with any of the pain until she'd stopped MedCo but as she had learned, plans seldom ever came to fruition the way she wanted them to.

"She _said_ I'd be able to tell if you had a fever. I asked how and she said I'd know but every time I guess I'm way off, so Pepper is either a wizard or a liar. I can't decide." Tony crawled onto the bed next to her and helped adjust her pillows so that he could join her.

"You're not used to giving a damn about other people, are you?" Scarlett turned her head to look at him, very much amused by his frustration.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Terribly." Scarlett yawned and covered her mouth before it turned into a cough. Shrinking down against the pillows she groaned in irritation. She was never very good at being sick. In fact, she had a tendency to ignore the symptoms until she wound up in the hospital. Short of being drugged, Scarlett had never rested easy. "Don't feel so bad about it… I'm not used to being taken care of so we're on an even playing field."

"What, Scott didn't cater to your _every_ whim?" Tony's level of disdain for Scarlett's ex-boyfriend that he had never even met was pretty remarkable. It was no secret that Tony was a jealous person.

"He certainly tried." Scarlett noticed Tony stiffen up next to her and exhaled deeply. Glancing over at the nightstand, Scarlett grabbed the glass of water that had been left for her and one of the antibiotics Tony had shipped all the way across the globe for her. After taking it, she nudged Tony with her elbow. "Stop pouting about Scott."

"Me? What? No, I'm _not_ pouting. That's not what I do."

"You are clearly pouting." Scarlett turned and rested her hand gently on his shoulder, adjusting herself against the pillows so she could look up at him. Tony furrowed his brow and pouted out his bottom lip. "And now you're pouting about pouting which is just ridiculous." When he didn't respond, Scarlett rolled her eyes and shook her head. "What I had with Scott is not what you think I had with him. Scott was this nerdy scientist who pined over me for weeks while we were working together on a job in Senegal. I was already well into the darker circles of Africa before we met. I was dangerous and exciting and all safe guys find that to be a turn on."

"All the _not_ safe guys find it to be a turn on too, just so you know." Tony stopped pouting and readjusted the pillows, urging her to sit away from them momentarily so he could add another to the mountain they were leaning on.

"I never thought about it much. I mean, I'm not stupid, I know what I look like but back then it wasn't important. In a regular work environment it's actually a hindrance."

"I can see why. You and I would never get _anything_ done. We'd just have sex all the time." Tony nodded his head and gestured in front of him.

"I have a pretty intense work ethic, I'm not sure that's much more than a wet dream." Scarlett laughed and then grimaced as it turned into another fit of coughing.

"So do I, but I also have a pretty intense libido so it's conflicting."

"Stop making me laugh." Scarlett swatted at his arm gently and then let her head rest back against the pillows.

"It is not my fault that you think that I'm funny." Tony started to tug the blankets down so she wasn't so covered up and he could see her better.

"As I was saying, Scott kept asking me out and I turned him down like fifteen times before I finally gave him a pity date. It didn't go well but a few weeks later I came into work ill and hurt after a bad night of the second job and uh… he helped me hide it and took care of me." Scarlett shrugged her shoulders. "I fought him the whole time about relationships, how I didn't want them and somehow we ended up as this… twisted confusing couple that I didn't even want to be a part of." Scarlett shook her head in dismay.

"The more he wanted to take care of me the more I didn't let him. I was stubborn and Scott wanted me to be someone I wasn't in the long run. No one _really_ wants to date the dangerous girl, you know. Men like the idea of me because I'm different, strange and… exotic but the reality is far less romantic. I'm difficult. I'm a loner, generally smarter than most men, stubborn and definitely not the type to settle down with a family and kids. That's what most men _want_ including Scott. And when I refused to turn into that woman he would get angry with me. I started to feel guilty that I couldn't be the woman he wanted me to be. He had always been hoping that I'd change out of love, but the truth was that the love was never there." Tony still wasn't looking at her but instead listening intently. He didn't like Scott before but now he liked him even less. Something in the back of his mind assured him that the ex-boyfriend had been up to no good.

"Look, Tony when Scott tried to take care of me he made me feel guilty because I didn't let him do so and that I insisted I didn't need taking care of in the first place. I _like_ that you're trying to take care of me. I can see it means you care about me. The real difference here is that I _want_ you to try to take care of me. I've never wanted that before." When Tony didn't respond, Scarlett felt frustrated. This wasn't her forte.

Relationships were often more work than they were worth but she didn't want to screw this one up with Tony. He'd proven that it would take more than she thought to do that considering he'd chased her halfway around the globe already to keep her from getting killed. She hadn't even been the one to bring Scott up! If she had it her way, she'd never talk about Scott again. All she managed to do when thinking about him was feel guilty about having dragged him through years and years of a dead end relationship when he clearly deserved more.

"You know that's not true."

"Which part? I said quite a few things and that's a very general statement." Scarlett shivered without the blankets. Now that she'd been awake for more than a few minutes she could tell she still had a fever.

"The whole thing about no one really _wanting_ to date the dangerous wild woman." Tony cleared his throat and nonchalantly slipped his arm around her. "I kinda like her… She's not as dangerous as she thinks she is." Scarlett smiled and leaned into Tony's touch, letting her head rest against his shoulder. Brushing his lips against her forehead he gave her a kiss and got the shivers. "You're really warm."

"That's because I have a fever." Scarlett pulled the blankets back up around them both this time. She'd never been one for snuggling in the past, but with Tony she could picture herself getting used to it. "I'm far more dangerous than you think I am, for the record."

"No you're not. You're practically a kitten, a sex kitten at that. And you don't have to worry about being smarter than me… so that's not a problem."

"I don't think you're making this better," Scarlett laughed. She was surprised but pleased when Tony tucked the blankets around her to make sure she was warm enough.

"From what I understand about love from the… ten romance movies I've ever seen, eight of them in the last two weeks thanks to Jarvis, things aren't supposed to work like they did between you and Scott."

"That's an ideal created by the media, Tony. All that garbage is what women are taught to want, not what they actually get."

"Hear me out."

"Okay, but remember when I'm glaring at you that you had the chance to stop this conversation before it got out of hand."

"If you have to change the person you're with then you don't love them very much." Tony shrugged. Scarlett leaned away from his shoulder and propped herself up on one arm against the pillows with a small smile on her lips. "Yeah, look I've already changed since we met. I'm not chasing skirts other than yours and I give a damn about someone else. But you didn't ask me to do either of those things. You didn't push me to. I did it in spite of your god awful attempts to push me away." Scarlett shivered but not because of the fever. What romance movies did Tony watch that gave him this impression?

"I'm not asking you to stop chasing MedCo because I don't want you out running around in the face of danger. I'm asking you to stop because I'm afraid you're going to get killed. I want to help you so I can make sure that doesn't happen. I fell in love with you in spite of myself too. I have three thousand reasons to kick you out or have you arrested and I don't care about any of them. Real love is about taking a person as they are and wanting them anyway."

"You got all of that from watching The Notebook? Really?" Scarlett laughed after she'd actually absorbed what Tony had said. It was strangely insightful coming from the famous playboy.

"Well, there were a few really awful ones mixed in there too but the message was all the same. Love is acceptance. Sounds to me like Scott didn't love you very much."

"I know." Scarlett nodded her head and then rested against him again. Closing her eyes and placing her hand over his reactor and brushing her thumb against it, Scarlett smiled. "I never loved him either, that's the only reason I know he couldn't have. I felt guilty that I couldn't be the woman he wanted me to be. I avoided it and made no effort to change because when it came down to it… I cared more about my career than I did about him. God, how did we get to talking about this… It's really unpleasant."

"I made the mistake of mentioning Scott and made myself jealous?" Tony nuzzled his nose into her hair and took in her intoxicating scent. Even after having been sick for days, she smelled nice.

"Oh, I'm glad you realized that this was your fault."

"I didn't say _that_."

"Pretty sure you just did."

"No, that wasn't admitting fault as much as it was stating the situation."

"You're such a pain in the ass." Scarlett laughed and cleared the cling in her throat. Tony was warm and comforting. She wasn't used to having that or wanting it when it was available.

"I know." Tony smirked and placed his hand against her back. When he felt her breathing starting to slow while they were relaxing, he grew weary of the silence and worried that she would fall asleep. He'd spent the last few hours in mostly silence while she'd been resting and while he'd had multiple business calls and had talked to Pepper for a bit, it wasn't quite the same. "I have a confession to make."

"You only watched those movies to get laid? I had no doubt of it. Don't you worry." Scarlett whispered, her eyes still closed. The longer she stayed awake the more the sickness weakened her. It was easy to feel better after having finally gotten some quality rest uninterrupted by nightmares but now that she'd been sitting up with Tony for the last twenty minutes the stress of her illness was weighing her down again. It was still better than it had been the day before, but after having ignored it for so long the symptoms had built up and were weighing her down every time she tried to function properly.

"No, no…" Tony laughed and then considered what had been said. "Okay yeah, I did, but… that was _not_ what I was going to say."

"Why are you so serious suddenly?" Scarlett yawned brushing her hand over his chest. Snuggling still seemed silly but it sure felt nice when she was cold with a fever. She really could adjust to it. How many times would she have to convince herself of that before it felt normal?

"I'm _not_ being serious."

"Yes you are. You have your serious face on."

"Okay I am, but that's because I have something to confess. Most confessions are serious. Wait, I have a serious face?"

"You do have a serious face. And confessions usually are serious, unless they're from you, then they're _usually_ sexual."

"This one isn't." Tony chuckled, pushing her hair out of her face. "Would you let me talk?"

"Don't you talk enough? Constantly even? Isn't it about time that I interrupted you for a change?"

"I bugged you." Tony interrupted. Scarlett didn't lift her head from where she was leaning against his shoulder and chose to stop playing around. When things became serious she _still_ retreated into humor. She knew Tony did too, but when he had something to say he always made sure it was said unlike Scarlett who struggled to find the words. "I'm sure you wonder how I keep finding you. When I caught up to you in London I tapped your phone. You were sleeping and I seized the opportunity to grab it and put a tracking device in with the SIM card." Scarlett grinned and shook her head. "I know it's deceitful but I couldn't risk you slipping under my radar forever."

"I already knew you bugged my phone. This isn't much of a confession." Scarlett didn't lift her head from his chest or make any attempts to get up. This was a conversation long in the making but she wasn't sure she was ready for it. Tapping his fingers against her back, Tony contemplated what this response actually meant. Maybe he was reading too far into it, but the woman he knew would have pulled out the GPS or ditched the phone if she'd wanted to avoid being found. How many times had she told him to get lost? On how many occasions had they fought about him following her across Africa? She'd said it was too dangerous and he'd needed to get lost.

"What?" Was all he Tony managed to say. Scarlett knew that her response required explanation.

"I knew you put GPS in my phone. It was the only thing that made sense. You're not _that_ good Tony, no one is. I made a career out of making sure I'm not followed. If I really wanted to ditch you, then I would've." Scarlett sat up finally and pushed her hair away from her face and glanced out the window of the hotel room she had barely gotten a chance to admire.

"Then why would you keep letting me follow you around? I thought you were trying to get rid of me. How many times have I had to listen to you tell me how this is way too dangerous for me to be involved in? Even though I'm Iron Man and have more than proven how capable I am of caring for myself."

"No, no…" Scarlett began but hesitated and instead of speaking just leaned forward and rested her arms against her knees. "It's complicated, Tony."

"I'm pretty good at unraveling complicated situations. I'm a genius, or so I'm told. I could show you my doctorates if you want… But we'd have to fly back to Malibu."

"Haven't you unraveled me enough in the last few weeks?" Scarlett hung her head and rested it against her arms.

"Why didn't you ditch the phone?"

"Because I love you. Isn't that obvious?"

"That both does _and_ doesn't make sense." Tony sat up straight, confused and conflicted.

"When we're not together I feel cold." Scarlett laughed skeptically, resting her hand in her hair and trying not to think too hard about the matter at hand.

"…like you need a blanket?"

"No, not literally cold... just _cold_." Scarlett purposely messed up her hair and nervously wrapped it around her finger. "I'm not good at this. Sharing emotions is foreign for me, you know."

"Hey, I've spilled my guts to you before, it only seems fair. It's not like I practice this in the mirror or something." When Scarlett didn't respond, Tony instead speculated. "So if it's not the literal sense of cold then it must mean…emotionally cold? That's the only thing that makes sense." Tony seemed to be figuring out what she was trying to say faster than she could say it.

"Yeah, I feel cold, okay? Cold, as in the way I used to feel all the time. I don't want to be like that again. I never had _this_ stupid thing we have together. I joked around all the time but I was manipulative, calculating and a borderline sociopath. I don't want to be that woman again when I don't have to be. When we're apart I feel this emptiness." Scarlett furrowed her brow and continued before Tony could make a snide comment. "It's hard to describe and I'm usually good with words. When we're not together I'm afraid that I'm going to lose what made me finally feel human. And I don't know if that makes sense but it's like I found something I lost years ago. So, yeah Tony, I wanted you to follow me. But I didn't because I'm scared you'll get hurt. And at the same time if you don't follow me then what if I get lost again? And not actually lost, it's just… again the words aren't making clear sense right now. What if it's too late to bring me back? I'm screwed up enough without this nonsense."

Tony grabbed Scarlett by the shoulders and pulled her against him, silencing her with a kiss. What she said had been more than enough to explain why she hadn't ditched the phone. And while it wasn't easy for her to explain and nothing she said had really shared what was going on in her mind, it was apparently enough for Tony. Scarlett didn't argue and instead placed her hand on his cheek. He was just asking to get sick when he kept kissing on her like that.

Turning on the bed Scarlett went to pull away but instead felt Tony pulling her back so he could keep kissing her. She couldn't help but smile against his lips once she realized what he was aiming at with kisses like that but knew the risks far outweighed the benefits.

"Tony, you're going to catch this bug… How many times do I have to warn you?" Scarlett whispered between kisses, the cling in her chest only worsening the less she was able to properly breathe. But it was worth it to know that what she'd said to Tony had clearly had some effect on him.

"I don't care. You'll just have to be my nurse…" Tony gently urged her back against the pillows, continuing to kiss her, but slowing himself down so that Scarlett could catch her breath between kisses. He knew that the illness she'd contracted had settled into her lungs and was making it hard enough to breathe without him kissing on her. Slipping her frozen hands around his middle, Scarlett gripped at his t-shirt and leaned into his slow and gentle kisses. Even though he'd slowed down her heart was beating incredibly hard within her chest. What had she said that had spurned this romantic gesture? She thought that she had sounded like a bumbling idiot.

Pushing her hair away from her face, Tony sat at her side and urged her to lay back down against the pillows before leaning over her. He never pulled away from her lips, not for a second other than to breathe and even that seemed like a formality. Untangling his fingers from her hair carefully, he slid it down the side of her neck, her skin immediately responding with goose bumps to his touch. Picking up her hand Tony placed it on his shoulder before urging his down to her hip where his thumb brushed just beneath the shirt he had put her in days before.

Getting the shivers, Scarlett found that she was gripping at Tony's shirt and pulling it up even before she'd realized that was what they were aiming at. For some reason every time they started to kiss like this it turned into something more physical. Though she shouldn't have been rightly surprised seeing as he _was_ Tony Stark and his reputation had long preceded him. Slowly his warm hand crept beneath her shirt and over her side, pulling the fabric up and away from parts of her. Once Scarlett realized where this was going, she began to tug his shirt up purposely. Using her chilled hands to her advantage she ran them down the length of his bare spine and to the elastic of the exercise pants he wore.

Tony groaned and arched his back into her touch, giving her lip a playful bite as he did so. There wasn't much that had to be said between them as they exchanged sensual kisses and touches on the hotel bed. Each time they'd made love before it had been premeditated and they'd joked about it. Only once before could she recall where it'd started without words and that had been after he'd saved her from the hands of MedCo when they'd attempted to abduct her from the prison. It had been just as confusing a feeling back then as it was right now.

Each time that she'd abandoned him in a hotel room felt different now that she'd explained her true motives. Was it possible Scarlett was less calculating than he'd thought when first pursuing her? It was easy to forget that they were still getting to know each other and discovering what made the other tick. After all they had only known each other for a short time before they'd become swept up in a whirlwind romance that had quickly grown past their physical needs.

Tony was never a romantic, not in the past and he certainly wouldn't call himself that now. But with Scarlett he could see how easy it was to turn into one. Romance had never been something he'd even attempted but he had fallen into the process naturally with Scarlett and found it just as exhilarating as the physical passion he'd used as a crutch to distract from the unfulfilling flings he'd become obsessed with.

Scarlett's hands were trembling as she pulled away his shirt, attempting to hungrily take in the oxygen her lungs sorely needed. Despite how different and romantic their current situation had become, she still felt oxygen deprived. Tony's hunger for her grew as he urged his hands beneath the shirt she wore. Knowing that his every touch sent her into a fit of shivers and goose bumps made him excited and increasingly aggressive. Starting to kiss down her neck and purposely sucking on her skin against a mark that he'd made on a prior occasion and had begun to fade, Tony nipped at her flesh and hoped to renew it.

Coughing, Scarlett covered her mouth and turned her head to the side. As much as she wanted to abandon the illness ravaging her body in favor of making love to Tony, she couldn't. Of course, it wouldn't stop her from _trying_ but the phlegm in her lungs wasn't going to wait politely for them to finish up before bothering her again. Leaning her chest into his touch as his hands found her breasts beneath the shirt Scarlett groaned and was momentarily distracted from her own touches and instead gripped at his shoulders. Tony wanted to make a snide comment but instead found that he was unable to properly form more than a low groan.

Squeezing her breasts playfully to increase her pleasure he watched as she gasped and moaned beneath his touch. It wasn't often that she didn't fight for dominance against him, but he found that he enjoyed their lovemaking either way. It wasn't about the struggle or overcoming her, it was about making love _to_ her and that had been more compelling for Tony than any prior sexual encounter and he had many. Scarlett had always been in it for the game, but was more than happy to hand over the reins to Tony that day. Her heart was beating far too fast, her fever and his touch making her shiver and the cling in her throat and lungs was making it much harder to play the way she usually would.

His touch on her chest always set her on fire, but today in particular it was muddling her senses altogether. Panting and whimpering for him, she desperately needed to get rid of the shirt she wore but found it just about impossible to pull it away with Tony touching her and taunting her with his rough hands. She wasn't sure she had the energy in her to make her next move but it had never stopped her from trying in the past. Slowly she wrapped her legs around him but was forced to hesitate when Tony urged his hips flat against hers. Through the soft material of his casual pants, she could feel how excited he'd come to be in the short time it'd taken them to become intimate.

"Tony…" Scarlett exhaled between quiet coughs, tightening her legs around him purposely and urging her hips to rock gently up against his in an attempt to better feel his arousal. He stiffened his grip on her chest and bit playfully at her shoulder as growled in response. Then he peppered her shoulder with kisses and moved his lips back to her neck, letting his tongue brush against the sore spot on her flesh that he'd created.

Before she lost her nerve and motivation, Scarlett used the momentum of her legs around him in order to push him onto his back on the bed. Tony stared up at her in surprise, his hands still beneath her shirt. Even sick, it seemed Scarlett had a bit of fight within her, though her motives were entirely different in this instance. She wanted nothing more than to get her shirt off so that she didn't feel so confined. It was an odd feeling, to be chilled from the fever but burning hot from passion all at the same time.

Noticing that she had purposely left her hips hovering above his as not to startle them both, Tony grabbed onto her hips and then purposely urged her on top of him and none too gently at that. Scarlett squirmed and gasped loudly, having to grit her teeth to fight the much louder sound that he'd built up. Unfortunately having swallowed the sound had triggered a coughing fit and Scarlett was forced to rest her hands against the bed and hang her head as she sat coughing on top of him. Tony watched her and with a pained look on his face, pushed her hair away so he could see her face better.

"We can stop." He gritted his teeth, practically whining as though it was the worst thing that had ever happened to him. But, if doing the horizontal tango was going to make her condition worse, then he didn't want to do it. Scarlett placed her hand over his mouth to stop him from talking again and managed to fight off the coughing that persisted.

"I want this." Scarlett nodded resolutely and stubbornly, though her voice was scratchy. She then sat upright and pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it behind her where it hung lazily on the side of the bed. Before Tony could object further, Scarlett urged her hips back against his and let her freezing cold fingers brush over his chest and abdomen, pressing purposely against his hips to increase the pressure that had so obviously built up inside him. Each motion she made against him she accompanied with a small noise of excitement. Scarlett's heart rate wouldn't slow down, despite their slow pace. Something about _this_ moment made her sweat and made her nervous. She'd made love to Tony enough times now that the nerves shouldn't creep up the way they did but somehow they persisted.

Tony sat up and urged his hands slowly over her sides and back to her breasts. When was the last time they'd made love? It hadn't been very long ago but something made it feel like it was the first time to him all over again. Even if things weren't as explosive as they had been when they'd fought for dominance along his staircase and all the way into his bedroom where they'd at long last given into their more primal urges, it was just as exhilarating. He could feel the arc reactor growing hotter as it had from that first time they'd been together. His fingers instinctively brushed over the scar tissue in the shape of his arc in the center of Scarlett's chest.

Kissing over the scar, Tony urged his hands down to her hips, over her thighs and then around to her backside. His teeth grazed against the scarring as he decided that having stripped her and put her in nothing but his old ratty t-shirt had been one of his more brilliant ideas. Rolling her onto her back, Tony didn't immediately lean against her and instead started to kiss over her chest. Scarlett cleared her throat of the cling and arched her back into his touch. Reaching over his shoulder and down his back while purposely tracing small patterns with her nails into his flesh, she attempted to pull away his pants.

To oblige her, Tony kicked off his pants and shoved them away with his feet. In the same moment he decided to be rid of his boxers. His skill with removing clothing was still rather remarkable and Scarlett couldn't hide her amusement as a small laugh escaped accompanied by a cough. Tossing his boxers over their heads he whispered as his lips returned to her chest.

"For you, milady."

"Ever the gentleman…" Scarlett groaned as she slipped her hands into his hair, gripping at it playfully. It wasn't the most exhaustingly physical romantic experience they shared but it was amazing nonetheless. Every touch of his lips against her breasts set her nerves on fire despite her illness. The more he kissed, the more she forgot about the discomfort she felt from the sickness. Fevers didn't matter, MedCo didn't matter; the only thing that mattered was that Tony was with her. It felt stupid to think that way and Scarlett was still completely filled with conflict on the matter, but it was also comforting to know that there was one thing in her life that remained constant and _that_ made her feel wonderful, even if it was in a confusing way.

That one thing was Tony and the more they made love, and the more that it felt like the first time all over again, the more comforted she was by him.

In the same breath, she was terrified of becoming comfortable. Was Tony just as afraid as she was? It didn't matter, not now, not to either of them. Tony distracted her, kissing up to her lips and letting them brush against hers softly. Pushing his fingers through her hair he kissed her. She could see in his eyes that the only thing Tony saw right then and there was her and what they were doing. How on earth was it so easy for him to forget everything else?

That was part of how Tony knew that what he was feeling was genuinely love. When they were together nothing else mattered. The world could be crashing down around them and he'd find time to make love to her and he wouldn't rush it just because of something horrific happening around them. It mattered more to him that he could have these small moments with her than it meant to him to save the world crumbling around them. It may have seemed petty, but Tony had always been a little petty.

That reassured Scarlett, but she whined when he pulled his lips away from hers and began to once again kiss down her neck and over her chest. Despite her objections to him moving away, she leaned up into his kisses. His hands slowly scraped down her sides and to her hips as his lips moved lower and lower against her form. Heart racing away in her chest, Scarlett fluttered her eyes open so she could watch every movement made by Tony as they continued together to make love.

Tony let his tongue brush over her chest and further down to her stomach. His scruff brushed over the indents of her muscles while his fingers slowly trailed down to her thighs, pushing them apart in preparation for what he'd do next. Her body was warm and ready for him. It gave him the shivers to know that he had as much of an effect on her as she had on him. As he continued further down, his lips brushing over her stomach and his tongue dipping into her belly button, Scarlett grabbed at his hair, not able to do much else at this vantage point. They hadn't yet delved into this part of their relationship and it both excited her and made her nervous.

As much as she wanted to explore what Tony was surely very skilled at with his tongue, Scarlett wasn't ready for it. Not for lack of _desire_ but for worry that her endurance wouldn't last up to finish the entire task. On top of that, Scarlett wanted to be able to return the gesture in kind. What kind of faces would he make in the throes of such passion? It was something Scarlett refused to miss out on simply because she'd caught a bug chasing MedCo.

"Tony…" Scarlett's bottom lip trembled with passion and her body arched in excitement she was unable to control. Tony nipped at her skin and purposely brushed his neatly trimmed goatee against her hip bone, reveling in the goose bumps that appeared over her flesh. Brushing his hands down to her knees when Scarlett gripped at his hair, he growled playfully. Urging her hands away from his hair he started to kiss over her thighs, his pronounced nose brushing closer and closer to her warmth.

Suddenly Scarlett sat up and Tony looked up at her in surprise. Grabbing him by the chin she pulled him up to her so that she could kiss him again, her lips capturing his upper one and giving it a playful tug. Flustered was only the beginning of how Tony was feeling. She'd had things so rough the past few days between chasing down MedCo, the quarantine, having to worry and keep him safe and then finding the notes on an illness she might have gotten from horrific experiments that Tony had wanted nothing more than to ease her mind with the fog of an extraordinary orgasm that he would be more than capable of providing.

"Why?" Tony whispered against her lips between passionate kisses. Her arms slipped tightly around his shoulders and pulled his body closer against hers, forcing her to lean back even though Tony supported her weight and held her above the sheets.

"For another day… I want _you_." Scarlett whispered against his lips between kisses.

"Mmm… is that so?" Tony groaned, still surprised that she'd stopped him. It was something he'd wanted to do for a long time now, but he wondered if maybe her physical stamina wasn't yet prepared for such a feat. Still, he couldn't help but be slightly amused at the way she'd chosen to phrase things.

"Eat it up Tony, I'm not going to say that very often." Scarlett brushed her lips over his chin and gave it a playful nip. Immediately Tony squirmed, growled playfully and then pushed her back onto the bed before kissing her desperately.

"That was what I was _trying_ to do and you stopped me…" Scarlett swatted at his shoulder and laughed, kissing him again between short coughs to try and prevent another more severe fit of coughing.

"That is so _not_ what I meant." Scarlett kissed him deeply between words, not pulling away as she spoke.

"It's what _I_ meant." Tony smirked and nibbled on her lips again, brushing his hands against the inside of her thighs. "…what kind of a man would I be if I denied a woman in such _dire_ need?" Growling again and urging her further against the bed, away from the pillows, Tony kissed her hungrily and adjusted himself before pushing into her. Scarlett cried out against his lips, muffled by the kisses they shared. She hadn't even gotten to respond with something witty and couldn't dream of doing so at this point. Tony was right, she'd needed him as much as he'd needed her.

Her body tensed immediately beneath him and he didn't waste any time before moving within her. She urged her hips in time with his, but the physical effort of lovemaking took a much greater toll than she had anticipated that it would. Body clenching, hips aching, and heart racing a mile a minute, Scarlett had to pull away from Tony's lips so she could both breathe and cough. Covering her mouth so she wouldn't do so all over Tony, Scarlett closed her eyes and felt apologetic for having to deal with her illness amidst their lovemaking. The guilt that had blossomed was overshadowed by pleasure and excitement created by Tony.

Despite her having pushed his lips away he instead moved to kiss over the side of her neck. Biting on it he groaned and growled to excite her. Her arms caressed over his back and sides, over the marks she'd left on him from prior lovemaking sessions. He kissed up her neck and over her jaw to her ear, shivering beneath her touch. Scarlett tilted her head to the side as he got closer to her ear and nibbled on her ear lobe. Purposely Scarlett urged her cheek against his to feel the light scruff on his flesh.

"I love you…" Tony whispered in her ear. Sweet nothings had never been in his repertoire but he didn't think it was too late to develop the skill. Scarlett got the shivers and leaned into his touch, wanting to hear every word in his deep voice that sent shivers down her spine as she used every bit of her remaining energy to urge her body with his. Fingers traveled up his neck, crawling into his hair and holding him close against her. Tony urged his hand beneath her and to the small of her back, lifting her hips up just enough so that he could change the angle of their motions. Scarlett let out a feeble yelp where her voice broke. The tension built up quickly within Scarlett and Tony whispering into her ear only enhanced her pleasure and excitement. Soft whimpers escaped her lips as she stifled her moans to try and listen to him better.

"Tony… oh Tony…" Scarlett cooed into his ear, her lips brushing softly beneath his ear lobe. Her body was tensing up, reaching ever closer to that inevitable romantic end of their lovemaking. Every part of her was burning up with pleasure, the fever and cough completely forgotten as they slipped nearer to the ecstasy of their orgasm.

Tony's hand let go of her hips so they would rest against the bed again and gently brushed over her side and onto her stomach. He then pressed his palm suddenly much harder against her abdomen. Scarlett sat up in objection and cried out in surprise.

"Holy shit!" Heart racing faster, she felt suddenly the passion and pleasure rushing straight through her. The tension that had naturally built up was forced to increase thanks to Tony pressing against her. Grabbing onto his wrist being her natural reaction, Scarlett cried and shrugged her shoulders, clutching at the sheets with her other hand. Trying to tug his hand away, Scarlett whimpered as he refused to relent.

"Stop holding it in…" Tony smirked, amazed that he'd gotten such a reaction out of his girlfriend who turned out to be _incredibly_ sensitive. Relaxing his hand momentarily, he brushed his fingertips lower against her stomach and then pushed harder. Leaning up again at the pressure that felt so unnatural in comparison to what she was used to, Scarlett was suddenly blinded by pleasure, seeing small spots of white flickering in the darkness of her vision, sparkling like tiny stars. She'd never _actually_ seen stars before. Or had she? Each time with Tony had been so astounding, the little things felt like new.

Tony took this time to watch her and he held his breath to keep the pressure of her orgasm from sending him over the edge. But he was forced to move faster, harder, deeper as her body contracted and burst around him in a beautiful cacophony of groans and cries. Her nails once again dug into his back, the other hand gripping and pulling at his hair.

Slipping his hand away from her stomach, Tony wrapped his arms behind his girlfriend and lifted her onto his lap, urging her to keep moving as he pulled her flat against him. Scarlett's body was writhing in ecstasy against his, but she found her strength and tried desperately to urge her hips with his so she could feel his end as well. It occurred to her between the haze of passion and pleasure that she had never cared much about what the other person in her sexual encounters was getting out of it. Sex had always been a selfish means to an end for them both but in the last hour they'd proven that it was no longer such an experience for either one of them.

While she struggled to breathe through the process, it seemed to only enhance the experience of their lovemaking, despite how her lungs painfully strained for oxygen. Tony couldn't hold on much longer. With Scarlett seated in his arms and rocking against him, her chest pressed flat against his and the hot reactor most likely burning into her skin again as it had on multiple occasions, he couldn't contain the pleasure he'd built up within his own body.

With a final jolt of his hips, Tony cried out loudly as he reached his end, a flood of excitement and euphoric bliss. He gripped tighter onto Scarlett's backside as he urged his hips to move against hers faster. Scarlett bit her lip to stifle her cry at the feeling of his end and then gasped as she felt a renewed rush of pleasure strike her in a second orgasm. It was much harder for Scarlett to move on top of him while her body was crippled a second time by the intense pleasure that swept over her in wave after wave of excitement. Tony groaned against her lips between frantic kisses his own breath caught in his chest from the intense amount of physical strength it took for them to keep moving during such hectic circumstances.

Together they rode out the remainder of the pleasures, though Scarlett had to pull her lips away from his to struggle and catch her breath. Her chest was aching miserably from lack of oxygen, but it didn't matter much to her. It was a small sacrifice to make for her to be able to function while making love to Tony.

"God, you're so good Tony…" Moaning quietly as they rose and fell together, Scarlett buried her face against the side of his neck. Each minute felt like an eternity of bliss and euphoria.

When finally they had finished, Tony secured his arms around her form tightly and urged her to stop her now feeble motions and rest against him. His heart was racing and his reactor was burning but he could feel Scarlett's severely increased heart rate while she leaned heavily against him. She was dripping with sweat and momentarily he became concerned that the physical activity had been too strenuous. As he leaned his head back to get a better look at her, he was relieved to see her smiling despite how she coughed every few moments. Her cheeks were delightfully pink from both lack of air and overheating. It probably hadn't been the smartest idea for them to make love while she was still so ill. If what she had was contagious there was no doubt that Tony would be showing symptoms in the next forty eight hours.

But none of that mattered.

His body starting to cool down, Tony urged his hands over her back, soothing her in attempts to help her breathe. Struggling still to breathe, Scarlett's body began to finally calm down though her fingers and toes both tingled and trembled.

"…good, huh? I was hoping for… amazing, fantastic, life changing… but I can't argue with good either." Tony brushed his fingers through her hair gently.

"Life altering, world shattering, practically a paradox…" Leaning her head slowly up from her shoulder she felt light headed and dizzy. Slowly she kissed over his chin, resulting in another groan from Tony.

"Careful, those words and that kiss could result in another go and as much as I'd love that, I don't think you're prepared for the consequences…" Tony growled before capturing her lips in another kiss. Scarlett laughed and swatted at his shoulder again, biting her lip in a smile as she glanced down at his reactor. The tiny action of her swatting at him was very quickly becoming one of Tony's favorite things. It was likely not designed for him to enjoy, but he enjoyed it nonetheless.

"We shouldn't have done that." Slowly Tony urged her to lie back, leaning over her as he did. Pulling away from her once he was sure she was comfortably rested on the pillows he laid at first on top of her before adjusting so he was at her side, his head on her shoulder. He wanted to make sure that she could breathe easy.

"That's the summary of my entire life, Scarlett… I _shouldn't_ have done that. But you know what? We did and it was pretty amazing." Tony kissed over the side of her neck while he continued to catch his breath. His hand slowly crept over her stomach and onto her chest where it sat over her heart which he could still feel beating at a mile a minute. Making love had taken more effort than he had expected it to on her part. Considering with what ease he was used to, he knew that she truly must have been ill. Tony tugged the blankets back up to cover her as she began to once again shiver. The sweat on her skin certainly wasn't helping.

"Not surprised that would be your motto." Scarlett muttered sleepily, comforted by Tony's touch. Blinking one eye open she glanced lazily over at him despite where he hid against the side of her neck. "You're right though, Tony. It was worth it… More than worth it."

"I'm always right, when are you going to realize that?"

"Only if you actually end up being right more than twenty percent of the time. Those are your odds so far."

"What? My odds! There's no way it's only twenty percent. I think your math is a little off." Tony laughed and urged his head on her chest now that she struggled less to breathe.

"Unlike you my math is never off. I've been keeping track. You're smart, but easily distracted…" Scarlett kissed the side of his head. Teasing Tony had become one of her favorite things.

"I'm going to improve those odds, you know."

"I'm hoping you do." Scarlett yawned. Usually they would both drift to sleep after making love since each occurrence seemed to happen later in the night. Tony, as tired as he was, didn't _want_ to go right to sleep. He wanted to talk to her and spend time with her before she needed to rest. Scarlett, who gave the side of his head another kiss, seemed to want the same but also didn't seem too eager to start the conversation. She was comfortable doing nothing but lying there with him.

"Tell me something I don't know about you." Tony yawned, leaning his head up carefully to look at her, propping it on his elbow once the silence had become too much for him. He never did handle silence very well. If it wasn't music on in the background then he was left to his racing thoughts and then he would generally become destructive.

"Like what?" Scarlett tilted her head to the side so she could better look at him, resting her arm over the blankets and securing them over her chest.

"Anything. It's not like we've had the chance to go out together and exchange stories lately... Our relationship is very confusing." Tony chuckled, brushing his hand over her arm. "You're the first girl I've dated that I haven't properly gotten to wine and dine."

"That's true." Scarlett considered what to tell Tony next. She didn't want to talk about her old job and she most certainly didn't want to talk about her childhood. "Okay… How about this? I know that this is going to sound terribly cliché but I love Paris. It's my favorite place on the planet." Scarlett smiled at the idea of it and stared up at the ceiling, lost in her thoughts. Tony watched her as she spoke. It was a different dreamy side altogether.

"I never pictured you as a romantic, of the arts type of person…"

"That's because I'm not. But there's something poetic about Paris. I don't know if it's just the ideal created by Hollywood that I love or the fact that all of my favorite writers went there to be inspired but… I've always romanticized the place and yet… I have _never_ been there. My favorite place on the planet and you'd never be able to guess because it's one of the only stamps not on my passport." Scarlett sighed softly. "I speak pretty decent French thanks to living in Senegal for awhile but… still I've never been there."

"What? Why wouldn't you go there if it's you're so obviously in love with it?" Tony folded his arms against her chest and leaned on his hands, watching her curiously while she spoke dreamily of France.

"I only traveled for work. Vacations seemed pointless back then. Scott wanted to take them together but I was bored by the idea of spending a week with _just_ Scott doing nothing more than lying around in bed or seeing the sights. I always turned him down or made up excuses. Work mostly kept me busy and traveling the globe, anyway. But I turned down every job that involved Paris. No one ever asked why, I guess because I never let them. I can be intimidating when I want to be." Scarlett's smile faded and she leaned her head to the side against the pillows, avoiding Tony's gaze. "If I took jobs in Paris I'd see the darker side of it. The beauty would be lost and I didn't want that. I needed to have one place in the world that still seemed pure and magical. Paris is like a fairytale for me. I've never told anyone that before." Scarlett fluttered her eyes closed and lingered momentarily before turning her gaze back to Tony. She expected him to tease her but instead he was giving her that serious look again.

"We can stop this, you know." The gears in Tony's mind were working in over drive and while he wasn't saying it, it was clear what was happening in his mind. "SHIELD is onto MedCo already. They have a man inside and if we give them our information then they could put a stop to it and keep you safe."

"SHIELD is twenty steps further behind than I am and as much as I'd like to think that they could help the only thing they could do to keep me safe is to take me captive. If I go to them then they're going to bring me in, Tony. I have done many things that I shouldn't be proud of and SHIELD will throw them in my face to get me to work for them. I know they're overall a benevolent company but they're willing to sacrifice us for the greater good. This is something I have to do. I wish you could understand that." Scarlett covered her mouth and coughed. The fever was getting to her again and the urge to sleep was becoming overwhelming.

"I can't watch MedCo destroy you."

"I need to do this just like you needed to become Iron Man. Tony if I don't do this I'll _never_ be free."

"We could go to Paris." Tony pled, brushing her hair back. "I could take you there and it would never lose its beauty for you. We could stay in a loft near the Eiffel Tower overlooking the river… we could eat at shitty bistros and I could rent out the damn Louvre for us if you wanted. I could make it as magical as you dream it is."

"You know we can't do that right now Tony. I'm not as free as you think I am. They want _me_. If I wasn't hunting them they would be hunting me. I have to do this.  
"I know but… they're going to kill you, Scarlett. It's not fair. I just got you and…" Tony drifted off, frustrated that he couldn't fix their situation as easily as he would've liked to. Reaching to touch his cheek, Scarlett gave him a soft but weary kiss.

"I'm not going to let them win. Have some faith in me, will you? I'm not going to die Tony, not when I finally have something to live for." Tony kept his eyes closed when she pulled from the kiss. "When I'm free we'll go to Paris and I will make this up to you, I promise." Her eyes were burning from a combination of fever and upset. What had started out so sweetly had turned into another conversation that neither one of them was ready to have. Scarlett closed her eyes. Her head was swimming and the fever was winning the fight for the evening. It wouldn't take long for her to fall asleep.

"But I can set you free if you just let me. SHIELD can't just take you away, I'll protect you." Tony kissed her shoulder and when she didn't respond he grimaced. Leaning his head up to get her attention Tony sighed heavily when he realized that Scarlett had drifted to sleep. Touching his hand to her forehead, he could feel how warm she was but yet again couldn't tell if she had a fever. She stirred under his touch but didn't wake up.

There had to be something Tony could do to help speed up the process and prevent further harm to the torn woman lying in bed with him. As much as he insisted upon taking other options he knew that she had to fight against MedCo. She was right.

He'd _needed_ to become Iron Man to cope with what had happened to him and the experience that had changed his life forever. If he hadn't done that he never would've become the man he was today. Scarlett needed the same kind of closure so she could end that chapter of her life and start a new one side by side with Tony.

Unfortunately, neither one of them could guarantee her safety in the matter. When Tony had become Iron Man he'd had nothing to lose and had been willing to risk his life and limb to make amends. Luckily he'd come out on top, even though he had found enemies at every turn. Scarlett didn't have a suit of armor and a multibillion dollar corporation to aid her in her pursuit of those who hunted her.

Tony wasn't sure what he could do to tip the odds in Scarlett's favor but it sure as hell wouldn't stop him from trying to find a way.


	15. Beneath the Subconscious

_[[Hope you guys are still enjoying! If you want to see art from this series, please visit my tumblr at .com And don't be afraid to talk to me, I'm very friendly!]]_

"No!" Scarlett cried out suddenly from sleep, jumping upright in bed. Her hands were shaking and her back was sore from the phantom pain created by her nightmare. Dripping in sweat, she could taste the unfamiliar burn of bile in the back of her throat. Where was she? She couldn't recall. The fog of her nightmare hung in her mind, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. Where were the demons that haunted her? The men with guns, knives, and whips had disappeared and left her in the darkness. Had she been given a chance to escape?

Glancing around and barely recognizing the dark room, Scarlett furrowed her brow and closed her eyes tightly in hopes of shutting out the combination of pain and confusion that overwhelmed her. Her efforts were in vain, even though she felt like the secret to her location was on the tip of her tongue. It didn't feel like the prison cell she'd been kept in and it didn't remind her of the laboratories at the MedCo facility she'd been held in. The bed beneath her was comfortable, but the pain surged through her body. Bile surged again in the back of her throat and the nausea was overwhelming. Scarlett made an attempt to ignore the feeling and her stomach groaned in objection.

Jumping out of bed as quickly as she could, Scarlett rushed through the darkness and stumbled clumsily across the room in search of a bathroom. Groping blindly along the wall for a doorway, Scarlett knocked over several items scattered across a shelf before finding the frame at the far end of the room. The door was partially ajar and thankfully once her eyes had adjusted to the darkness she could see the silhouette of what she had been searching for. Just in time, Scarlett located the toilet in the bathroom of wherever she had woken up and emptied the contents of her stomach. The phantom pain still ran through her, making her nauseated and causing her to throw up a second time.

Tony jumped in bed when he heard something crash across the room and rubbed his eyes sleepily to help focus his vision. Instinctively he sat up and prepared for the worst. Usually when things went bump in the night, he would be in for the fight of his life. But when no unseen assailant came for him, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Jarvis, lights." He muttered beneath his breath only to realize that he was still in a hotel and while it was a very high end hotel, unfortunately Jarvis had absolutely _no_ control over anything. Grumbling in aggravation he reached for the lamp next to the nightstand and flipped it on after taking a minute to find the switch. Everything seemed just as it had been before he'd fallen asleep the night before with the exception of his watch, razor and cell phone having been knocked onto the floor across the room. They were now scattered on the floor in front of the open bathroom door. Obviously, that had been the source of the crashing sound that had woken him up, but how they'd gotten there was something else entirely.

Rubbing his hand over his eyes in order to wipe away the remnants of slumber, Tony stumbled out of bed initially to pick up the items that had fallen off of the dresser, his feet numbed and tingling from the night before. Once he'd picked up his razor he heard sounds in the bathroom of someone shuffling around on the tile. Stomach suddenly in knots upon realizing he wasn't alone, Tony slowly got to his feet. Setting the razor cautiously down on the dresser, he slowly walked to the bathroom and peeked his head through the doorway.

Inside he saw Scarlett leaning against the wall across from the toilet, still as naked as she had been when she'd gone to sleep. Leaning back up and looking at the bed, he saw the covers kicked back and the sheet half hanging off of her side of the bed. He hadn't noticed her absence when he'd first gotten up, mostly because he wasn't used to being in bed with somebody else.

"Scarlett," Tony sighed, assuming at first that her illness had only worsened while she'd been resting. Perhaps their antics the night before had worn down her immune system. Here he thought she'd been getting better. Maybe he'd been an idiot for not taking her to the doctor when he'd had the chance. Now she'd never agree to go. Scarlett didn't acknowledge Tony's weary and scratchy voice and instead she let her head rest against the wall with a resounding thud. She didn't look like her usual self.

Stumbling back into the bedroom Tony groped along the floor and slipped his boxers back on. He then retrieved his Black Sabbath shirt and grabbed the sheet that was already half hanging off the bed before returning to the bathroom. He found Scarlett still in the same position against the wall. Without looking down at what was inside, Tony closed the lid to the toilet and then flipped the handle to dispose of its contents. He'd spent one too many nights in the same position. If he didn't know better he would've assumed that Scarlett had too much to drink. She even had that hazy look in her eyes like she didn't quite recognize where she was or what she was doing.

Crouching down, Tony urged Scarlett away from the wall, preparing to be attacked as he often was by the volatile woman. But instead she let him move her and manipulate her like a rag doll. In fact, she didn't even flinch when he carefully urged the shirt over her head and helped her slip her arms through the sleeves. Leaning heavily against him once he was done, Tony then slipped the blanket behind her and let it hang over her shoulders.

Brushing his fingers gingerly over her forehead Tony wiped the sweat away from her skin only to realize how cold her skin was in comparison to what it had been before they'd gone to bed. Was it possible that the only reason Tony couldn't detect her fever the night before was because he hadn't realize how _cool_ her skin was actually supposed to be? Now it seemed obvious that she no longer had a fever.

So if it wasn't the illness getting worse as he had suspected, considering her fever had obviously broken during the night, Tony knew there could only be one other thing making Scarlett so ill and keeping her so distant. He recalled the nights where he hadn't been able to find rest and had noticed her tossing and turning from night terrors. When she'd first arrived at his home in Malibu he'd been so curious about, and some would say obsessed with, her that he'd watched her through security cameras and had seen her struggle against unseen forces, locked away in her mind. Some horror haunted her each time she closed her eyes, and that was the only logical thing he could come up with to explain her sudden upset stomach.

"What the hell are you dreaming about that does this to you?" Tony sat on the cold floor of the bathroom next to her, asking his question before he'd completely thought it out.

"Hmm?" Scarlett looked up at him and seemed to very suddenly recognize him for who he was and recall where she was. Maybe it was time for Tony to start studying the human psyche when he decided to further his education once again. He had no idea what could leave her so distant and felt at a complete loss when it came to helping her snap out of it.

Could nightmares really manifest so vividly that it would disrupt Scarlett's sense of reality? Or perhaps she was suffering from a psychotic break. He'd had one of those before, about ten years earlier. Too much alcohol, not enough food, too much stress from his job and a few other recreational drugs had made that one _hell_ of a week and Tony wasn't keen to relive it ever again or watch anyone else suffer through it.

"I asked what you're dreaming about that's kicking your ass. That's why you threw up, am I right? And knocked over all my stuff by the way…" Tony drifted off slowly. Scarlett shook her head and refused to answer initially. When she offered no further word or gesture in response, Tony scowled. She was shutting him out. "Don't do that."

"Do what?" Scarlett's voice sounded weak and frail. Tony didn't like when her voice was so small. She was usually such a strong woman, and when she sounded weak it made _him_ unsettled.

"Don't subvert the topic. You've been having these nightmares since the moment I met you and while I'm not one to usually pry into what messed up things are going on in anyone else's heads seeing as I have _plenty _of material in my own mind, you've piqued my curiosity. What could be _so_ terrible that it scared you into throwing up? Unless you woke up after I passed out last night and drank _all_ the liquor in the mini bar that is…" Tony nodded toward the bedroom and for half a second considered that his jest could actually be true. Just because it was something _he_ would do didn't mean that it was something Scarlett would do. Maybe he was a little more twisted than he had initially thought.

"You know when you were calling me a Bond girl back on that first date?" Scarlett sighed, knowing that the only way she'd get out of sharing what was plaguing her would be to offend him and quite frankly she didn't have the energy to get into an argument with Tony. Being ill was doing a number on her. Usually she'd come up with some half assed excuse but for some reason she expected Tony wouldn't believe anything less than the truth anyway.

"I still call you Bond, just not to your face mostly. Don't be surprised if you get a reputation." Tony shrugged his shoulders and wrapped the blanket better around her. He hadn't done a particularly efficient job at first, he'd been far too proud of himself for being able to deduce, merely by touch, that Scarlett no longer had a fever.

"You know what you don't get to see in those movies?" Ignoring Tony's quip, Scarlett spoke, closing her burning and tired eyes.

"The boring travel sequences? Seventeen hours on a flight to Beijing wouldn't make very good film."

"The scars." Scarlett scoffed, continuing to ignore Tony's distracting comments. "It seems like one big adventure when you're watching it on the big screen but until you've been in the thick of it? You have absolutely _no_ idea the toll it takes on you. I've managed to avoid the backlash of screwed up jobs, morally reprehensible decisions, and sometimes even the more successful jobs at least until the last few weeks." Tony stayed silent as he considered this notion. Was Scarlett was dreaming of moments from her past? She'd mentioned something about a job gone wrong in the weeks prior but he'd been too caught up in his own libido to pay enough attention to her. Plus, what was in the past was in the past. Why was she suddenly struggling with it?

"So, you're saying that you never see the aftermath in James Bond films where 007 has to go to therapy because he shot some guy between the eyes and his girlfriend was murdered?" Tony was only _partially_ joking.

"You know what? Forget I said anything." Scarlett wrapped the blanket tighter around her shoulders and got to her feet with the assistance of the wall behind her. She may not have had the energy to deal with fighting with Tony she didn't have the patience to deal with him making _everything_ into a joke.

"Don't be like that, Scarlett." Tony skittered to his feet to follow her, but stopped to flush the toilet a second time before leaving the bathroom just in case.

"You asked and I answered, isn't that enough?" Scarlett's feet felt strangely numbed. It was likely from how she'd been sleeping or maybe it had something to do with the night before that was returning to her in a haze. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was reminded of the reconstruction that had been done on her feet in order for them not to cause her pain every time she took a step.

The past was catching up with her faster than she could escape it.

"If it was enough you would be able to sleep at night without waking up at random moments to vomit." Tony walked right behind her as she slowly lumbered into the living room.

"I went from one job to another. There was no point in reflecting on what I'd done at the time. There was only the next job and how to figure out that puzzle. It was too boring to look back. But imagine that you spent years forcing puzzle pieces together in ways they didn't actually fit without looking back before you went onto the next box… then suddenly you stopped, turned to look at your accomplishments and saw the mess of pieces you left behind that never went where they belonged."

"I guess…" Tony had very rarely looked back and never regretted a thing he'd done in his life. There was no point in getting lost in what he couldn't control or change. "What is it that's caught up with you then? Old jobs? Something to do with MedCo maybe?" Even when he'd been prying at her to get information on the rogue terrorist company, Tony had been able to get very little. Of course, she'd told him what had transpired overall but he never considered that she could've suffered at their hands in ways that he couldn't even dream of. He'd been through torture experiences of his own, but considering what a cavalier lifestyle he'd lived when Scarlett had spent _her_ life on the underground getting her hands dirty, he couldn't imagine the darkness she'd seen. Tony had only recently had his eyes opened the nastier side of the world.

"Sort of a combination of things… well… more of an old job." Scarlett nodded, deciding that was indeed what she was dreaming about. It was hard to describe when most of it was locked within the confines of her memory. She had only started to actually recall bits and pieces of her own story in the last day or so. Sharing it with Tony seemed absolutely out of the question.

"How is it only _sort of_ those things?"

"Why must you continue to pry when you can see me struggling with it?" Scarlett sat down on one of the plush chairs near the window of the hotel suite. Her body was aching and sore, weak even after days spent fighting her illness coupled with the nightmares that plagued her while she attempted to sleep.

"Because you never give me a straight forward answer so I choose to pry instead. I'm _very_ good at prying you know. If you just told me what I wanted to hear then we wouldn't have to do this ridiculous dance back and forth." Tony sat on the arm of the chair she'd sat down on, despite there being a comfortable couch nearby, and watched her. Now that she had woken up a bit more she had become more obstinate. He'd have to remember for the future that Scarlett was considerably more pliable when she was half asleep.

"I got hurt on an old job. It went wrong in every sense of the word. I got caught in a bad place and the pain was unbearable. Took me months to get back to the condition I'd been in beforehand. I already told you about this once, didn't I?" Scarlett grunted and leaned her head against the cushioning of the couch but instead found Tony's knee in her way.

"You alluded to something going wrong at an old job with as few details as you could get away with and this being part of the reason you took the job with MedCo in the first place." Tony recited.

"Aw, you _do_ listen." Scarlett rested her head against his knee when he refused to move out of her way. "This is just my past catching up with me. I can't even remember ninety percent of what happened, Tony. You shouldn't worry about it too much."

"But it's bothering you. How am I supposed to ignore it?"

"Well, obviously it's going to bother me. It's not like this is something as petty as spilled milk." Scarlett sighed and curled her toes, trying to regain the feeling in her toes. "It's only this bad because I'm sick. Shit is catching up with me because I'm trying to make amends and I can't recover enough to deal with it so it keeps beating me back down."

"In my experience the subconscious more often reflects the present than it does the past."

"Oh and what makes _you_ such an expert, Sigmund?"

"Nothing, it's just about the _one_ field I have absolutely no interest in. I'm speaking from experience." Tony cleared his throat, resting his hand in her hair and brushing it away from her face, the action still comforting him. "When I have nightmares, yeah, elements from my past are often replayed but it reflects something I _don't_ want to deal with right now. Do you know how long I dreamt about Stane telling me that I betrayed him? I didn't want to deal with the guilt that I had after his death because it was misplaced. He tried to murder me _and_ Pepper. If I hadn't stopped him then he would've done far worse than he'd actually done. And yet, I felt guilty that I had killed a man that had practically been my father growing up."

"Because you're a half decent person, I'd guess."

"Don't change the subject. What is it _you're_ feeling guilty about? What is it you don't want to deal with? This job that you had… what was it? Why did you get so badly hurt? _Who_ hurt you? Is there something you're overlooking about that time that you don't want to believe because it'd be too painful to accept?"

"I'm not talking about this with you."

"Then who would you prefer to talk about it with? Are you going to just keep moving to the next job? Are you going to continue torturing yourself until you've crawled so deep inside a bottle that you can't get out? Because I've been there before and it's only a temporary solution."

"Stop trying to shrink me, Tony!" Scarlett glared at him in annoyance.

"I think that you won't stop having these nightmares until you figure out what they're trying to tell you. You're ignoring something important." Tony shrugged nonchalantly, watching as Scarlett got up once again and leaned against the counter of the attached kitchen. Clearly she was irritated with him and for a very brief moment he could see the all too familiar look of the world seated on her shoulders. Did she not know that she didn't have to carry all that weight on her own? He recognized the look well enough to know that it was the same thing he'd done after he'd gotten home from Afghanistan.

He'd learned the hard way that he didn't have to do everything on his own and he didn't have to keep the bad things a secret. It was still something he was learning to put into practice but at least he recognized the problem. That was the first step toward recovery right? Or were those the rules for a different vice? Tony couldn't keep track anymore, he had one too many vices.

"I know what they're trying to tell me Tony but what I'm trying to tell _you_ is that I don't have time to deal with it, not yet. It's going to have to wait until I'm not in pursuit of a terrorist organization."

"But what if it's got something to do with what's going on now? What if your subconscious is trying to tell you something about MedCo? About these experiments?" Tony knew that he was pushing her buttons and she would very likely snap at him soon enough, but he wanted to see how far he could push her and just how much information he could get out of her.

"I don't know how many ways I can explain this to you before I start repeating myself." Scarlett slid down against the side of the counter and sat against the cold marble floor, covered in the silk sheets. "Look, I'm far too tired for this discussion. I know what my dreams are trying to tell me. When you found me in that desert after MedCo… did what they did I started suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I wanted to ignore the signs and pretend that everything was okay but since then I've been having these horrific crippling panic attacks. Something snapped inside me after you saved me from MedCo." Tony cautiously got up from his spot on the arm of the chair and walked over to where she sat on the floor, crouching in front of her.

"What do you think it is that was different?"

"I don't know," Scarlett muttered. "Nothing has been the same since then, _I'm_ not the same."

"Do you think it has something to do with me?" Scarlett didn't immediately answer Tony, mostly because she couldn't honestly tell. When she'd been held captive her thoughts hadn't betrayed her. She'd managed to focus on trying to escape while saving Scott at the same time, and while it hadn't exactly panned out the way that she'd expected it to, she certainly hadn't been second guessing her entire life. Or maybe the change within her had been a long time coming and that was why she had allowed Scott to talk her into working for MedCo as a safer career move. If she removed the danger from her life, maybe she could cope with the demons haunting her.

So much for that working out.

"Maybe. I don't know." Scarlett finally decided that Tony might _actually_ have had something to do with the drastic emotional change that had taken place within her mind. He most certainly wasn't the root cause of the shift, but finding out he was innocent of the crimes she'd prematurely convicted him of had made a huge impact on her. Falling in love with him despite all of that had made an even bigger one.

It was still strange to think about. It was becoming another thing Scarlett didn't have the time to really consider with everything that had transpired. The tension suddenly felt thick in the room. Had falling in love really changed her? Or had the change been what had allowed her to fall in love?

"Is that a bad thing?" Tony furrowed his brow. Was it doubt that was manifesting within her dreams? It wasn't like he didn't have doubts of his own, but being with Scarlett felt right and no doubt was going to mess that up for him.

"I don't think it's bad." Scarlett shook her head once she'd made a decision. Even if she was scared of the changes being with Tony made in her life she wasn't going to stop being with him because of that. "Look, I very plain and simple don't want to deal with this right now." Tony frowned and shook his head in objection. There was something more to the nightmares she was having, but he couldn't really draw a conclusion with the limited information he had. At the same time, he could tell that Scarlett was struggling. Was it possible that she _couldn't_ tell him more? Was it too much for her to cope with and not just another excuse?

"Can you at least tell me what happens in your dreams? If we can figure out what you're trying to block out then maybe we can help you move past… Even keeping a journal would help."

"Tony I _know_ what I'm trying to block out, okay?" Scarlett snapped at him, clearly having had enough of the subject at long last.

"I'm trying to _help_ you!"

"What do you want me to do? Sit and cry on your shoulder while I tell you all about what went wrong? Tell you how I got hurt and I thought for _certain_ I was going to die?"

"No, I didn't say that." Tony grimaced. He'd finally reached her boiling point for the night and knew that soon he'd have to back off.

"I'm not ready to deal with whatever I'm holding back and when I'm ready I'll deal with it! You don't get to decide when I'm ready." Leaning her head back against the side of the counter Scarlett smacked against it repeatedly. Tony immediately reached behind her to protect her head so she would stop it or at least wouldn't get hurt if she continued.

"You're avoiding dealing with this. You have been since the moment I met you. If you keep avoiding it then you're going to drown."

"Right, like you can talk to me about avoidance." Scarlett curled her lip in a snarl but then held her hands up in front of her to stop Tony from whatever nasty retort he had and took a deep breath. "I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm exhausted."

"Well, maybe that's because you don't sleep." Tony rolled his eyes.

"_Really?_" Scarlett scoffed and made to get up and walk away, but found that she was just too damn tired to do so. Throwing up, even when it wasn't caused by illness, took too much energy and with her immune system weakened from days of fever, she had barely any energy at all to spare for such efforts. "I'm not trying to avoid dealing with it, I just don't know _how._"

"Which is why I'm trying to help you."

"I'm not used to having someone trying to help me, Tony."

"And I'm not used to trying to help someone!" Tony held his hands up on either side of him and then dropped them, exasperated. "I don't want to end up watching you doing something that you're going to regret because of some nightmares skewing your judgment."

"That's the thing, Tony. I'm finally doing things that I _don't_ regret." Scarlett didn't include that every nasty mistake she'd made in the past she had never done anything that had filled her with regret. What she had done something reprehensible it had always been for a job. There were no emotional attachments involved in her old career. If someone wanted to ruin someone else's lives and hired her to do it, then she was merely the tool that was used, not the person responsible.

But somehow, that thought no longer comforted her. She'd done terrible things and had terrible things done to her and now all she could think about was the regret and the guilt, so she opted _not_ to think about it so she wouldn't break down. At least outside of her dreams she tried not to think about it.

"Look, I'm not ready to deal with it." Scarlett urged her hand to his cheek gently. Her fingers were cold and clammy and she looked drained, even a little paler than she usually did. Tony knew that he had to relent. She wasn't lying for the sake of avoiding dealing with something difficult. Scarlett wasn't ready to deal with what had happened to her in the past.

"I know." Tony offered a sly smile but it quickly faded as he considered what to do next. Taking her hand from his cheek and kissing the back of her knuckles he sighed. "Fine, we don't have to talk about it. But… if it gets worse or starts interfering with what needs to be done next then we should address it. But I can't force you." Scarlett felt guilty immediately for not telling Tony the whole truth, but she wasn't yet ready to accept the truth on her own nonetheless share it with anyone else.

"Just like that?"

"What, you think I'd rather fight with you when you're not ready to fight back? It's not fun unless you're fighting _with_ me and we end up tearing each other's clothes off."

"God, you're still such a pig." Scarlett shook her head in dismay, leaning against the counter gently.

"You weren't really expecting me to _stop_ being one suddenly, were you?" Tony smirked, glad to see the relief flooding through Scarlett.

"I suppose I knew what I was getting into with you."

"I certainly knew what _I_ was getting into." Tony didn't miss a beat, and his face was still so serious that Scarlett couldn't help but stop to laugh. "Really, Scarlett, this says more about you than it does about me."

"Trust me, I have thought about that a number of times." Scarlett rolled her eyes, but was glad that Tony was letting her off the hook from discussing her disturbing nightmares.

She wondered if he was right with his theory though. Maybe her dreams were trying to tell her something about her pursuit of MedCo as Tony had suggested. But what else were they suggesting other than Scarlett might have been a failed experiment? Unless she _wasn't_ a failed experiment at all, but rather a successful one. This did nothing to comfort her thoughts at all.

It couldn't be true. There had to be something else going on beneath the surface that she wasn't remembering. Being experimented on wasn't an option.

Tony watched her consider his words and even though she said nothing in regards to it he knew that their argument had gotten to her. It had gotten to him too. If she was having nightmares about the time she'd spent in Afghanistan then something significant must have happened there, and something that related to what she was currently dealing with. Dreams usually weren't random, as far as he could tell. But what, if any, connection was there to the time she'd spent back then? Tony wanted to dig deeper, but without more information on what had happened to her, he wasn't sure that he'd be able to make the connection on his own.

What Scarlett had gone through had clearly been extremely traumatizing and even if she refused to admit it, it was obviously something she struggled to deal with. Tony knew that she was almost as stubborn as he was and that prying would only distance her and discourage her from speaking about it. He'd finally gotten her to rest and wasn't going to push her until she was feeling better.

But he couldn't sit idly by and do nothing either. Looking back up at Scarlett he saw her with her eyes closed against the counter. Had she really thought that something was wrong with her for falling for him? He wasn't sure if he was insulted by that or not. Then again, considering their rough beginnings he could understand how she'd think that even if he didn't want to.

"Scarlett?" Tony brushed his fingers over her knee. Making a noise of recognition she slowly looked up at him. "You're falling asleep."

"No, I'm not." She muttered under her breath, swatting at the hand he reached toward her to try and pick her up to stop him. Sliding around to her side, Tony picked her up and cradled her in his arms. "Sometimes no _actually_ means no, Tony."

"You didn't tell me to not to do it. You never said no. You just said you weren't falling asleep which was a blatant lie." He shrugged and gently laid her down on the bed. Sitting next to her, he brushed his fingers against her cheek. Scarlett shook off his hand and held hers up in front of him to keep him from kissing her. "What, you're giving me the cold shoulder now? Come on, I wasn't _that_ mean."

"No, I just threw up, remember?" Scarlett rolled her eyes and then pulled the blankets higher over her.

"I don't care." Tony puckered his lips playfully.

"You can't always get what you want, you know." Scarlett smiled, feeling slightly comforted that Tony would want to still kiss her even when she hadn't gotten the opportunity to rinse out her mouth.

"Says you." Tony smirked and then turned her to look up at him again. "Come on now. Give me a kiss."

"Fine, but only because you're sorta cute."

"Only sorta?" Tony grinned, cocking an eyebrow as he ever so slowly leaned closer to her. Even if she had told him no, he had a feeling that she would've given in. Slowly he brushed his hand over the side of her neck, letting his lips linger dangerously close to hers. Her heart was beating faster at just the prospect of him being so close to her. Even though they'd practically committed to a relationship, things felt forbidden and exciting.

"Don't push it. You're definitely not getting any compliments right now." Scarlett laughed and then coughed lightly as the cling arose in her throat. When he continued to brush his fingers over her neck and eventually urged his hand behind her head, Scarlett felt her heart skip a beat. Tony leaned down to kiss him gently, met halfway by her lips that were just as eager to meet his. There was no danger to interrupt them, no Pepper to come in at the wrong time, just them together in their kiss. Once they parted ways, they lingered close to each other's lips. Before Tony kissed her again, she interrupted and stopped him. "Are you going to lay down with me?"

"No, I'm too awake now to try and sleep." Tony reached for the comforter from the bottom of the bed and pulled it over Scarlett so she would be warm and hopefully able to sleep longer than a few hours without a nightmare.

"Okay," Scarlett whispered lethargically, closing her eyes and rolling over in bed. Despite how much adrenaline had pumped through her veins after the nightmare, the act of vomiting and then fighting with Tony had worn her out and had made her want to sleep. It didn't take very long for her to finally find the rest she so sorely needed. Tony watched her fall asleep quickly and could only hope that the nightmares would be kept at bay, at least long enough for her to get some rest.

Walking away from the bed, Tony grabbed a bottle of scotch he'd purchased for them to enjoy together from the refrigerator hidden beneath the entertainment center. Sitting down on the couch he poured a glass for himself and then took a long drink out of it. His thoughts were betraying him. Scarlett would never let him look into her history and he doubted she would be open to investigating it, even on her own.

And yet, Tony couldn't get the idea out of his head.

If someone had experimented on Scarlett the perfect opportunity would've been when she had been held in captivity and too injured to remember it. But she had said the incident was _before _she'd had her run in with MedCo.

So Tony did the only thing he could do. He finished his glass of scotch, pulled out his laptop and searched for as much information as he could on Scarlett and what jobs she could've possibly taken in Afghanistan. Now that he had more access to Scarlett's personal information maybe he would have an easier time finding more about her history.


	16. Visits From the Past

[[Thanks for reading. Love you guys! 3]]

Twitching awake on the couch for the fourth time in a row, Tony leaned forward and instead of trying to sleep as he'd done the first three times he hung his head in his hands. Gritting his teeth to stifle a noise of annoyance he rubbed his eyes and contemplated, once again, his moral quandary. He'd spent hours trying to talk himself out of digging further into Scarlett's past than what she had been willing to share with him.

Would doing so betray her trust? Or would it be the _only_ way he'd find out the truth about what she'd been through? He'd tried to convince himself to let it go, to wait until things became a bit more normal for them so he could ask… but would things ever _really_ be normal for them? Even after the craziness had been straightened out with MedCo, if that _ever_ happened, he was Iron Man and Scarlett was trouble.

As much as he wanted to think Scarlett would settle down and stop chasing shadows and getting into dangerous situations he knew it was unreasonable to expect of her. Scarlett was attracted to danger; she'd made that perfectly clear the moment they first met. Even if she took it easy for a little while after they returned to the States, if that was what she planned to do at all, how long would it be before she slipped back into the underbelly? Tony had always been under the assumption that she'd come home with him, but he'd never actually asked her what she _wanted_ to do.

Picking up his laptop from where he'd set it on the coffee table, Tony opened it and turned the screen on once again. He missed his custom system he had at home. He'd only built this for travel purposes and had never expected to use it as much as he had. Most of what Tony needed could be access from his phone, but what he had considered doing was a bit more complicated than what his phone could handle.

Still open on the screen was Jarvis' interface, the connection to his home computers once again linked up now that he'd awoken the machine. How many times had he opened the same interface in order to do some digging on Scarlett? A dozen? Staring once again at the screen that was prompting him for a command, Tony wasn't sure what he should do.

He sure as hell wasn't going to get any sleep until he got things figured out. Curious as his imagination was, Tony had fabricated a thousand different scenarios that could be haunting Scarlett's mind. Everything from the most horrific and graphic torture he could imagine to the most sadistic forms of imprisonment. To say the least, Tony had grown weary of trying to sleep. Until he knew the truth he'd form his own image of what had happened and it would haunt him the way that Scarlett's reality haunted her.

Sometimes being a genius was _hell_.

Very few people understood what it was like to have a mind that couldn't stay quiet. At any given moment Tony's mind was racing, except for the select few moments he'd shared with Scarlett where nothing else had seemed to matter. Perhaps that had been what made her so intriguing to begin with. She'd always been a puzzle to piece together and every time he thought he'd figured part of the picture out, the pieces scattered and confused him again. But what would happen when he really did unravel her mysteries? Would he be bored again?

Or would she grow bored with _him?_ Obviously she didn't need his money so that wouldn't keep her around. Was he scared of being left behind the way that he'd done to so many women in the past? Scarlett had done it once before already. Broken into his computer and left him naked and alone in bed. Even though she had explained herself more than necessary the wound still stung. But what right did he have to be upset over something seemingly so trivial in the span of things? And if he was still wounded by her betraying his trust, was she still upset about the nasty things he'd said to drive her away when things got too real for him?

He was over thinking everything.

Until he figured out what had happened to Scarlett in Afghanistan he would continue over thinking things. If he sabotaged their relationship, the first one that had ever meant _anything_ to him, he wasn't sure he'd ever forgive himself. He'd already made one horrifying attempt to sabotage it, he wasn't sure they'd survive another.

At first he tapped his fingers on the keyboard without _actually_ pressing any keys. Then he checked behind him to make sure that Scarlett was still resting peacefully. She looked content and according to Jarvis her fever had gone down considerably. What was Tony expecting to see when he turned around? Scarlett sitting up and staring accusingly at him? There was no way she'd suspect that he'd dug into her past more than she wanted him to. What if she never forgave him when she found out?

He'd _make_ her forgive him, and he meant that in the most benevolent way possible. Considering their tumultuous relationship so far and the vile things he'd said to her when he'd practically thrown her out of his house, it would be much simpler to make up for _this_ indiscretion than it would be to take back the harsh words he'd used against her. Their relationship was destructive and painful thus far, but it moved Tony with more emotion and excitement than he'd experienced before in his entire life.

Deciding that the outcome well outweighed the risks, Tony put the plan that had been formulating within his mind for hours into action. He'd use Jarvis to get the simpler things done then he'd go from there, back to his roots, and hack where he needed to. Hacking had been a thing he hadn't bothered to _personally_ do since his days at MIT when he'd done it for the sake of his own amusement. What else was there to do at that age in college?

He'd start with the rental car. Searching through Scarlett's finances might show him anything suspicious that had happened in the last year. If he found nothing there he'd search elsewhere. By now, he'd gathered enough personal information about Scarlett that Tony could discover more about her. Even if he had to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s systems, he'd do it just so he could find closure on the matter.

Fingers stopping suddenly Tony wondered if he _wouldn't_ find closure. What if what he discovered was worse than the fantasies replaying in his mind about what had transpired? Closing his eyes and cracking his neck, Tony pulled his fingers away from the keyboard and considered what to do. He had to know the truth one way or another, but at what expense? He could hear Pepper's nagging voice in the back of his head, reminding him of how he'd screwed up his relationship with Scarlett in the past with deceit. Even though Pepper wasn't exactly Scarlett's biggest fan, his assistant could see the changes that had been made within both of them and encouraged their relationship. Ultimately Pepper wanted him to be happy, and for that Tony was grateful.

When had Pepper Potts become his conscience? She wasn't even _there_ and he could hear her nagging in the back of his mind! He made a mental note to scold Pepper for it later, even though she was in no way at fault.

Typing again at the keyboard, Tony decided that the truth was worth the risk he was running. If his hunch was correct in regards to Scarlett's nightmares having some connection to their current situation with MedCo then maybe looking backwards would shed some light on what was really going on in their present.

Once Jarvis had gotten into the records of the rental car service at the airport, Tony was able to find the car she'd rented and found that unfortunately Scarlett had paid for it up front with cash. Of course she'd only use cash so that people like Tony and MedCo wouldn't be able to trace her movements so easily. Then again, she _had_ let Tony tap her phone so it wasn't like she was avoiding _him_ or anything. He was guessing that old habits had a way of dying hard. It would take far more than a moral epiphany for Scarlett to change her ways. It had sure as hell taken Tony much longer than he'd expected to become a different man, despite the drastic change in his lifestyle that had to happen after he'd returned with an arc reactor in his chest. But each day that machine reminded him how lucky he was to be alive and had driven him forward to make a greater change.

How long would it take Scarlett to do the same? She didn't have any permanent scars the way that Tony did, so would she need to be reminded in a different way? The nightmares seemed to be doing exactly the opposite of that. It made her _more_ reckless. Instead of coping with what had occurred she was blindly trying to make amends without making sure _she_ was alright. Maybe Scarlett didn't know how to be okay. Tony had always put himself before others and at first he'd thought the same of Scarlett but the more he got to know her, the less he thought that was true. In some ways they were very similar and in others they were polar opposites.

Tapping into the GPS mechanism he'd placed within Scarlett's phone, Tony found the SIM card ID registered with her phone company and went from there. With a few simple searches he was able to back track the phone to a company in the United States where she had an account under a fake name. He wondered if maybe she'd set that up before leaving Los Angeles that morning he'd woken up alone after having thought they'd made amends.

It was easy enough to get inside of the phone company's database using Jarvis, in fact, Tony had to do very little at all. He let his computer program run and stayed hunched over his screen as the coding that made up the interface flashed across his screen and allowed him access. Looking through her account, Tony found that Scarlett had paid for the service using a recurring automatic payment system made to her bank account. He found this odd, considering the lengths she'd gone through to remain hidden. Then again, without the numbers from her SIM card he never would've found the account at all or guessed the pseudonym. He still wondered if Scarlett Damien was even her real name or just an assumed one she'd taken on for her complex job.

He hoped that if nothing else, her real first name was Scarlett.

Tony traced the payment to a bank account set up in Los Angeles, but it seemed that Scarlett only used that account to pay bills. The money _had_ to come from somewhere though and if he followed the money he'd eventually find her main account which is where he'd surely find every payment for every job she'd ever done in the past.

Jarvis searched for money transfers and found several, each coming from a different routing number and with zero consistency at that. Each transfer had a fake identity attached to it that would seem legitimate to the bank she was using to pay the bills but when Tony investigated further he discovered that no such accounts existed at the banks whose routing numbers she had used. He was suddenly struck with admiration and attraction for the clever financial set up Scarlett had worked out so that her funds would remain untraceable.

But, absolutely nothing was untraceable to Tony Stark. When Jarvis reached the end of his search and proclaimed he'd found the end of the money trail, Tony looked over the information he'd acquired. Scarlett had clearly used some sort of crazy algorithm to hack into these different banks, authorize payment transfers from her _actual_ account through their banking system and to the dummy account she used to pay off her phone. It was brilliant.

Tony pulled the computer onto his lap and started typing away, still through his Jarvis interface. If he could recover the data from the latest account transfer then he would be able to find the algorithm she used, decipher and decode it and find Scarlett's, apparently super secret, bank account. If he could get her out of the mindset of having to hide her whole life then maybe she could have a regular account, like normal people.

It took Tony an hour of fighting against firewalls and security put in to prevent people from doing exactly what he planned to do, but he managed to finally intercept one of the transfers that hadn't been erased from the system quite yet. Unfortunately the security system locked him out moments later but not before he'd managed to hijack the information from the file transfer. He set Jarvis then to deal with the aftermath of a security system detecting his process so that he wouldn't be detected. Thankfully, before he'd started Tony had set Jarvis up to have his IP address to change every few seconds so that no one could backtrack the activity to his laptop, at least not easily.

Deciphering the algorithm took longer than expected, but Tony eventually was able to trace back to Scarlett's account which was, naturally, offshore. That was where he'd suspected he'd find her actual account considering the nature of her previous career; either that or he expected it to be in Switzerland where the security was the most intense. Many of the things Scarlett had done were likely illegal. It occurred to Tony then that he could _technically_ be sleeping with the enemy. If things hadn't happened exactly as they had then Scarlett very well could've ended up another person chasing him with a gun. But deep down he knew that Scarlett, despite her tendency to get into trouble, was overall a good person. She wanted to do _good_ things but had gone astray somewhere along the line; just like Tony had.

It would take Tony another hour to hack through the security for the offshore bank. Those places were _loads_ more secure than the banks in the United States or most other countries for that matter. They made it their business to hide underhanded dealings and illegal transactions. Naturally Scarlett would choose to hide her money there and then take extra security measures on top of that. Regardless, Tony wasn't giving up without a fight and his hard work paid off in spades.

Tony found Scarlett's bank account and had to actually walk away from his computer when he saw her balance. He knew now more than ever that she was _definitely_ not in their relationship for his money. Walking around the room he poured another glass of scotch and then walked over to the bed where he sat next to the sleeping woman. For once, she looked completely at peace. No nightmares, no tossing and turning, not even coughing or struggling to breathe against her illness.

What had she done to earn so much money? How many jobs had she worked to obtain as much as she had? And how the hell had she resisted impulse spending? With the money she had, she could have lived almost as extravagantly as Tony did and for the rest of her life at that. But somehow she'd chosen not to. Had money not been important to her? As much as Tony loved the luxury of being a billionaire, he understood more and more over the past few years how money couldn't fill the gaping void. It sure did _help_ though.

Head still spinning from what he'd discovered, Tony finished his glass of scotch and set it down on the nightstand next to Scarlett. Then he leaned down and kissed Scarlett's forehead. Her lips twitched into a smile but she didn't wake up or move more than to curl up closer to Tony. Brushing her hair away from her face he stared at the beautiful woman in bed for a long moment before getting back up off of the bed and returning to his computer. The horrible images of torture from his nightmares tainted her visage, and he had to get to the bottom of them.

Rifling through her transaction history, Tony discovered the transfers to the new account as the only spending Scarlett had done. It seemed she'd never made any attempt to live large or to even live well by any standards. He went back a few years and found payments for apartments and food but never any large amounts and to never anywhere exquisite. In fact, a few of the older apartments were in slums and ghettos. Returning to the more recent transaction history, Tony rifled through the charges, matching them up to the account information he'd seen in the bank that Scarlett had used for her cell service.

There was one payment that didn't seem to match up. It was transferred through other bank accounts just as the other payments had been but he couldn't find any record of it in Scarlett's dummy account that had been set up. Scrolling further through the history, Tony found another transaction for the same amount of money a month prior. On a hunch, Tony searched the month before that and the month before that one. Each month he found the same amount of money being transferred out of Scarlett's account to somewhere else.

But where was that money going? Tony went through the transaction history for a few more months and found the first payment. Before that there hadn't been any incoming or outgoing transactions for at least two months. Was that when she'd been going through whatever hell she wouldn't share with him? How long had she suffered? Longer than he thought if the bank records were any indication.

Deciding to focus on the mysterious transaction, Tony followed the algorithm she'd used for transfers to her other bank account and was able to find after some more searching that the money was being transferred to a hospital in Afghanistan and was listed as a donation by an anonymous donor.

Tony recorded the hospital's information in his phone and then shut down the computer entirely. Head in his hands again he considered what he'd found. It was just a donation to a hospital, why did he think it was so important? It could've been nothing more than Scarlett's attempt to be charitable or make amends for the wrongs she had committed over the years. Something within Tony's subconscious told him it was more than that. She'd mentioned Afghanistan in the past and it had made him nervous simply because that's where _he_ had suffered. But the Middle East was a hot zone of violence and he was sure it was just the luck of the draw.

Still, Tony was apprehensive to do what his gut was urging him to do. His hunch was that something horrible had happened and Scarlett had chosen that hospital for a very specific reason to donate money to. The only way he could think to get to the bottom of what had happened there and to find out if there was any connection to their current situation was for Tony to travel to the hospital in Afghanistan and investigate.

But Scarlett would never let him do that. The only other option would be that he would have to leave her here and go without telling her, just as she had done to him on multiple occasions. What was wrong with him? Scarlett had _finally_ agreed to stay with him and now he was considering abandoning her to further violate her privacy?

Yet Tony knew he couldn't continue on without doing it. Even if he avoided traveling there or investigating for a few days he would eventually give into his curious nature and follow the lead he'd discovered. It seemed silly for him to delay what was inevitable. So Tony picked up his phone again and scheduled a flight out as soon as he could on his private jet to Afghanistan. He hadn't been back there since he'd taken some vengeance of his own in his Iron Man suit shortly after he'd developed it.

Just in case he ran into any of his old enemies, or ones he hadn't yet met, he would bring his suit with him. He'd had one too many close calls in the last week to take any further risks. Guilt riddled Tony's insides as he packed up his things and got dressed and ready to travel. Would Scarlett feel left behind? Perhaps she would wonder why he left her or if she'd finally driven him away. Tony would go out of his way to make sure she knew that wasn't true.

Once he was packed and ready to go, he left Scarlett a note on the nightstand, folded up beneath the bottle of remaining antibiotic. Then he left without another word. He stopped to pay off the hotel bill before calling a car to take him to the airport where he would meet his jet and travel to Afghanistan.

Scarlett's phone rang on the nightstand next to her. Blindly she reached to grab it, answered the call and put it to her ear. She didn't bother to speak or acknowledge that the phone had been answered. Whoever had called her had known her number and would likely just talk. The only person who would be expecting a greeting would be Tony and he was sharing the room with her for the night so she highly doubted he would call.

"I heard about what happened outside of Madrid." The Indian voice sounded morbidly curious mixed with a hint of worry. Scarlett sat upright at the familiar sound of the man's voice. Her head was no longer swimming but she could feel the cling in her chest lingering.

"Don't worry. I got out of there before it was too late." Scarlett's voice no longer sounded weak and she was grateful for that considering the nature of her call.

"I was concerned but I had faith."

"See, I'm still pretty good at what I do." Scarlett coughed and cleared her throat. "Excuse me, I'm getting over a cold."

"A real cold or something more, perhaps?" Scarlett's contact seemed to know more about what she was up against than he had once let on.

"Only time will answer that. I thought you didn't want to get in too deep with this? Information only, remember?" Scarlett couldn't help but smile. Why wasn't Tony kissing over her shoulder and harassing her to find out who was on the phone and what they knew about MedCo and her involvement with them. Maybe he was in the other room or had fallen asleep on the couch.

"Curiosity got the better of me, I'm afraid."

"Are you calling me to just to make sure I'm alive or is there perhaps something more important behind this phone call?" Scarlett slowly swung her legs over the side of the bed and shivered from the cold air in the room.

"A little bit of both."

"Well, I'm healthy enough to function and continue so any information you have would be very valuable to me." Scarlett wiped her eyes that were crusted at the corners from sleep. Her contact sounded apprehensive to respond but moments later his voice continued confidently. Scarlett was sure she'd been imagining any apprehension.

"I did more digging into MedCo and found that they've returned to the scene of the crime or rather, to the scene of _your_ crime."

"You'll have to be more specific than that, my history is far worse than I let on." Scarlett was torn between being proud of that statement and ashamed. The Indian man chuckled and then cleared his throat. If anyone knew the trouble Scarlett had been in throughout the past few years, it was this man whose name she didn't even know.

"Cape Town. I found an order coming from the facility outside of Madrid as it was being shut down the other day upon your arrival. A ship is being sent to the port in South Africa and it will contain several cargo containers of unknown materials as well as what is listed as medicinal supplies. I figured that since you were held there that you would be interested to know. It is due to arrive this afternoon."

"What if it's another trap?" Scarlett theorized, hanging her head and watching her toes as she wiggled them, making sure each of them worked. It was an old habit she thought she'd been rid of. After a particularly painful day out in the field, as she referred to it, she'd woken up each day after and had moved each of her limbs to make sure that no permanent injuries had been sustained. So far so good.

"That is a risk you will have to decide if you are willing to take. There is more to this though." The Indian man sounded far more serious now. Scarlett stopped wiggling each of her fingers and sat upright as she considered what there could be more of or what seemed so worth the risk of her returning to South Africa simply to be set up again.

"What is it? I'm assuming it's pretty compelling since you seem to be thinking I should go back. What I found there the last time I went doesn't lead me to think there's anything worth finding." Scarlett grimaced at the memory of the note that had been left in her reconstructed prison beneath the half destroyed MedCo facility.

"I have records." The Indian man began cautiously. "I have shipping manifests signed by the heads of MedCo. If you can find something illegal on that ship then you have them. Your friends at S.H.I.E.L.D. who have been following them around three steps behind you could receive an anonymous tip if I so choose. The illegal cargo ship contents would be more than enough to launch a full scale investigation against the company." Scarlett furrowed her brow and cursed beneath her breath. She hadn't been able to think of a single thing that could've compelled her to return to South Africa but she knew that her contact was right.

If she could find proof of illegal activities and he had the documents he said he had then she would have concrete proof that they were the devilish company she already knew them to be. It seemed that S.H.I.E.L.D. was only waiting on actual proof of their illegal actions to make their move as well.

"What are the names on the document?" Scarlett spoke under her breath in case Tony was listening from the other room. The hotel felt strangely cold without him in the room with her. It was too extravagant, far more than any hotel she was used to. This was why Scarlett had never lived with what her financial means would provide. Alone she felt trapped by the extravagance and yet in Tony's mansion she'd felt just fine. Was it Tony's presence that made it seem okay? It was a confusing feeling that Scarlett decided she had zero time to deal with so instead she tucked away the thoughts for a later day.

"Marcia Edmonton and Mikhail Ivanov."

"Damn." Scarlett closed her eyes and sighed heavily. "I was hoping it was an elaborate ruse to try and lure me back there. But that's them."

"Don't do it." He spoke after moments spent in silence. Scarlett was surprised to hear his plea but waited for further explanation. "You don't have to pursue them. Let S.H.I.E.L.D. handle it. They will kill you, darling, and I do not wish to see you dead."

"I don't have a choice in the matter anymore." Scarlett leaned her head against the frame of the bed. She didn't want to leave the hotel, not without Tony. How many times had she abandoned him? How much more would he tolerate before giving up on her? They had essentially never had a chance at a real relationship. Scarlett couldn't expect him to keep making sacrifices for her.

"You do! You can disappear. There is always a choice. I can help you. I know many people who could make it seem like your life never was and you could live free." The Indian man pled through the phone. "All you have to do is come to India and I would make sure they never find you." Scarlett moistened her lips nervously.

"I can't just disappear."

"It's easy. I've done it before."

"Not anymore. It was easy a year ago but not now. This is no life." Scarlett shook her head. The man on the other end stayed silent waiting for an explanation. "I can't do this anymore. Ever since that job went wrong, I'm not the same person. I pretended I was so I could be okay but it didn't take long to catch up with me. I don't want to be the same woman I was and I think that's what changed. I want more than this life. That's why I have to chase them and put an end to this. They'll never let me leave if I don't."

"There must be another way… anything but this."

"Why would you call me and dangle this in front of my claws if you didn't want me to follow up?"

"Because you are stubborn," He spoke, concern thick in his voice. Men like him weren't supposed to get attached; it was in their job description. Scarlett was more confused than ever. "I want to help you. And this information will help you if you continue to pursue them."

"I have to continue." Scarlett placed her free hand to the side of her head and rubbed her temples. The headache she'd managed to fight off during sleep had returned at full force. "When I have proof, I'll be in contact. Stay safe. If they know you're helping me then you're in just as much danger as I am."

"I am always safe," He whispered. "I wish you luck."

"Thank you. For once I need it." Without saying goodbye Scarlett hung up her phone and flopped backwards onto the bed. Maybe he was right. If she disappeared then she wouldn't have to chase after MedCo and she could live a quiet life. But she'd have to give up what she had with Tony. There was no such thing as a quiet life with Tony Stark. She knew in her heart that she couldn't do that to him and she didn't want to do it to herself. But her contact's words frightened her and that wasn't easy to do.

He seemed to think she was running headlong into a trap if she followed the lead he had provided her with. The bait was so incredibly tempting that Scarlett was almost sure she would have to take the risk. But the bottom line was it would mean abandoning Tony again and she was sure they were down to the final straw. It took her only a few minutes to decide that she wouldn't leave him again. Maybe with his help, she would be able to get the information she needed off of that ship and they could turn it over to S.H.I.E.L.D. as Tony had once suggested.

Legs sore, Scarlett got off of the bed and went in search of Tony, prepared to finally let him help her the way he'd practically been begging to do since he'd followed her to London. But a quick search of the hotel suite let her know that she was alone. The emptiness she'd felt hadn't been because she was alone in bed, but rather had been because Tony was gone. Returning to the bedroom Scarlett gathered her things and set them on the edge of the bed. Maybe he'd had errands to run or was busy and would return later. Scarlett suddenly hated waking up alone. She would shower in the meantime and then try to see if she could find him.

A hot shower in a luxurious bathroom rejuvenated her senses but Scarlett could feel the emptiness in her heart creeping in and it made her anxious. Once clean and dressed, Scarlett returned to the bedroom and found she was still alone. On the nightstand next to where she'd slept she found something beneath the remaining pills that she'd been provided with. A folded up note lay there looking lonely and as she stared at it she felt her stomach becoming sick.

Before she even picked it up, she knew that Tony wasn't coming back. Sitting on the edge of the bed she pulled the piece of paper close to her and unfolded it.

"I have some things I need to do." Scarlett read aloud the first line of the very short letter. "I paid for the room for the rest of the week. When I'm done I'll find you. I'm hoping it won't take long. I didn't want to leave but I'm sure you understand that I had to." Scarlett dropped the letter onto the ground and turned away from it after reading the last line without bothering to recite it.

Tony had left to do something or other and didn't want her to follow him. What was she supposed to do? Sit around and wait for him to come back to her or wait for MedCo to realize where she was and take her from there? There wasn't that kind of time to spend sitting and waiting on his return. Plus, the emotional turmoil she already felt alone in the hotel room would only magnify as she spent more time there. No, she couldn't stay there and wait for him. It was too dangerous.

But what were her other options? She wasn't sure what to do other than to follow the lead in South Africa. Tony not being in the hotel room had been a sign that Scarlett had to continue on. She'd all but decided to give up the ghost and go home with Tony but when he'd proved to have motives of his own she knew she had to continue on with what she had originally planned to do. Even if going to South Africa was a trap designed to lure her in, and that was what she suspected, Scarlett knew it was worth going down there.

Many times MedCo had underestimated what she was capable of and if they thought that she was going to miss out on an opportunity like that then they were mistaken. She wouldn't let them get to her either though, just as she hadn't let them outside of Madrid. The past week her work had been sloppy but no more.

Even if it meant becoming the cold woman she thought she'd left behind again then she would do it. But she wouldn't give up her idea entirely. S.H.I.E.L.D. was a valuable asset that she wasn't utilizing and even though she was wary of trusting them she knew there _were_ people she could trust working for them. When she had the proof that she hunted for Scarlett would contact the Black Widow and would hand it over so that S.H.I.E.L.D. could take action.

It was foolhardy for Scarlett to think she could take down an entire company on her own. Most likely there were others involved in keeping the nefarious organization afloat behind the scenes, people even above Marcia and Mikhail. Once they were eliminated as Scarlett had once desired to do, there would be others to take their place. But if she had S.H.I.E.L.D. take the situation out of her hands, under the agreement that they would leave her alone to live her life as she saw fit, whether it was with Tony or not, once the information had been provided then she had a chance of really shutting them down.

Scarlett was tired of making deals with the devil. From now on the devil would have to make deals with _her_ and she wouldn't compromise for a second.

Getting up from the bed, Scarlett grabbed any evidence of her existence from around the hotel room and either disposed of them as necessary or packed them in her bag. The t-shirt that Tony had left on her, with the logo of a band she despised, was folded neatly at the bottom of her bag. Even if she never saw Tony again and things didn't work out she would always have the memory and she would forever keep that shirt as her only comfort. It was scary for her to think that way but she had no choice in the matter anymore.

As she walked out of the hotel room she stopped at the door and leaned against it. Could she really just walk away so easily? After MedCo was gone she would find Tony and would try to make things work. She wasn't sure what he was up to but she felt abandoned. Had he felt that way each time she'd left him? Guilt sank like a rock in the pit of her stomach. How long would it take her to make this up to him? That was if Tony ever gave her the chance. Their relationship both confused her and kept her sane.

Walking back into the hotel room one more time, Scarlett picked up the letter Tony had written her and placed it within her wallet after reading over it again. The last line had both given her hope and broken her heart.

_When this is over we'll go to Paris and I promise it will be everything you imagined._

Scarlett was going to make sure that Tony kept that promise. The only way Paris could ever really truly be the romantic ideal she imagined it was would be if Tony was there with her. With hope renewed and determination set into her mind, Scarlett walked out of the hotel room and dialed a number on her phone.

"I need a ticket to South Africa under an assumed name." She spoke before her contact could get a word out. "If I'm going to do this then MedCo can't see me coming for a second. Reach out to S.H.I.E.L.D. Let them know that information has become available but only after I'm in South Africa. Make sure they don't know it's from me."


	17. Reanimation

_[[Sorry for no update last week, I was on a "vacation" and hit a writer's block. Back on schedule though, ready for some action. I hope that people are still reading, and thank those who are even if they're silent. It means so much to me.]]_

Other than the sound of waves crashing against the docks all was quiet in Cape Town. There were very few who dared venture that way past nightfall. The shipyard was located in a less than perfect neighborhood. Those brave enough to dare the streets after dark were usually armed heavily and up to no good. Darker areas of town provided the anonymity Scarlett preferred. She'd learned a long time ago to easily find her way through a crowd of thugs unnoticed given the nature of her past career. At first she'd been timid and had gotten in more trouble than most thanks to the way she looked but eventually she'd learned how to carry herself confidently enough not to be toyed with.

If anyone got persistently in her way Scarlett would kick their ass to the curb and be on her way before they knew what had happened. Those who inhabited the underground generally had a sense of when they should back off and who was and wasn't worth bothering. Scarlett had an air about her that kept her safe in dangerous places. She had confidence in her ability to protect herself against _most_ people. Only the dumbest of criminals would give her a hard time in a dark alley, and the stupid ones were always the easiest to take down.

Creeping through the alleys between the rundown buildings just outside of the seaport Scarlett was practically invisible amongst the few people who dared venture out that late in the night. Easily she'd located the ship her Indian contact had spoken of earlier in the day after she'd landed in Cape Town that afternoon and had set up a camera so she could watch people come and go. There had been no one she recognized boarding or leaving the ship and nothing had been taken off or brought onto it during the few hours she'd had the camera set up. At night, the ship seemed equally abandoned. It was more than suspicious.

Scarlett was convinced more than ever that even the appearance of the ship was a complex set up by MedCo in an attempt to lure her into a trap. The situation _oozed_ with deceit and malice. The opportunity was simply too good to be legitimate. Her contact in India had been right right about it being a clever ruse to lure her in. But MedCo continued to underestimate Scarlett's abilities. They'd defeated her multiple times over the last few weeks but she hadn't truly been herself. Between having thought she was responsible for Scott's death and then falling in love with a man she was supposed to hate and want dead, her life had gotten more than a little mixed up.

No longer would Scarlett let her conflicting emotional issues interfere with her work. Her thoughts were clearer than they'd been in months and her health had improved tenfold in the last twenty four hours. Scarlett would have to remember to thank Tony for the medicine he'd provided her with and for taking such good care of her. Knowing that he wouldn't show up at the most inopportune time had taken a huge weight off of her shoulders. She loved that Tony cared enough about her to give chase, but she had spent the last two weeks being petrified that he would get hurt because of her. She couldn't stand the idea of him being harmed the way that she had thought Scott had been held prisoner. The worrying had thrown off her game considerably.

As the moon crept higher into the night sky, hidden by pale clouds Scarlett snuck between buildings preparing her getaway plan. If she was caught on the ship by MedCo Security then she'd need a window of opportunity to escape from confined quarters. She had spent most of the flight planning that escape route and the rest of the afternoon repairing her Tesla glove and procuring ammunition for her handgun. The buildings on the dock were nearly all made from wood, along with the dock itself. So Scarlett had decided the easiest fail safe she could create would be _fire._

The only down side was that her plan would cut off the dock as an escape route but Scarlett was an adept swimmer and familiar with the area. If necessary, Scarlett would be able to swim to a number of safe harbors. The evening was spent spreading an accelerant along the far end of the dock near the building that housed supplies for ship maintenance performed there on a daily basis and along the edges of the dock near the water. It was just enough to cause an inferno. After obtaining a few coils of rope for personal use, Scarlett set up ignition points that would respond to a singular switch at her command.

The trigger was built into a disposable remote switch she built during the day after having repaired her Tesla glove. It could have just as easily been triggered by her phone but that would've been too easy for authorities to trace, even the less sophisticated bureaus. If it came to her setting off the switch as she predicted would happen, then the fire would be massive enough to garner attention from onlookers who would alert the proper authorities. The distraction would give her between two to five minutes to get in the water and escape before police could get to her, maybe longer depending on how quickly the fire spread. It wasn't much time but it was all that someone with her skills would require in order to disappear.

The only way that MedCo would get the upper hand on _this_ mission would be if they killed her. Scarlett would sink the whole damn ship if she had to just to avoid capture. She'd decided earlier that the easiest way onto the ship would be to board it via the gangway like everyone else would. While she could tie one of the ropes onto the railing and climb up the side of the ship, it would've been far noisier for her to do than it would've been just to board the ship regularly. Slowly she crept along the dock between ships, relying on shadows in the cloudy night to hide her from view.

She was sure that someone on the ship was expecting her to make an appearance sometime soon but they likely didn't expect her to waltz right on like it was no big deal. Passersby would think that she belonged there and think nothing of her. But there were no people walking by that night to think her suspicious. There had been a few thugs hanging out in the darker corners of the town outside of the dock but they had ignored Scarlett while she'd moved through the city. Being summer it was still much too warm for her to wear a large jacket, but she had chosen to anyway. It was uncomfortable but provided her with anonymity since it hid her feminine form. The additional ability to carry extra ammunition and the accelerant unseen beneath her jacket had been a bonus that made it worth the sweat.

Once on the upper deck of the ship, Scarlett moved slowly and quietly to get a good feel of it bobbing on the waves beneath her. It was a large cargo ship, obviously designed to transport large heavy crates of various freight. She'd investigate the bridge next, then the decks below the ship and then finally the lowest levels of the ship where the cargo was usually stored. The further in she went the more difficult her escape would become.

As she walked silently in the darkness across the deck of the ship she took the rope she'd stolen and tied it to various pieces of the ship's railing and let it hang over the edge and dangle above the water. If she had to make a quick exit then the rope could provide a way to break her fall into the dark current below.

She was confident she could make the dive off of the ship and into the water safely but if she was being chased by MedCo Security Agents then she wasn't positive she would be able to escape as smoothly as if she had been an unexpected guest. The entire set up was too simple for there not to be obstacles waiting for her below. Someone wanted Scarlett on that ship and there was likely something awful waiting for her.

Still, it was worth the risk given. If she could obtain proof of what MedCo was up to even if it was something simple in combination with the manifest signed by the heads of the company then Scarlett would be able to put them behind bars, or at least start the investigation that would put them there in the long run. Then she could take her life back, hopefully. There was very little proof of her past history outside of the files that SHIELD had kept on her and even then they had only theories and no actual evidence that she'd been responsible for anything. Thanks to MedCo, every accomplishment along with every crime she'd ever committed had been stricken from the record. They'd wanted no one to miss her and no proof of her existence to bite them in the ass when they'd taken her for whatever intention they'd had.

It was the only thing MedCo had ever done that had worked in her favor. She was guessing a life with Tony would be highly publicized and her criminal history would certainly have been brought to light if it had still existed. Once she'd tied the last rope on the railing, Scarlett made her way to the hatch that would lead her onto the bridge of the ship. There were metal steps that echoed her footfalls regardless of how gingerly or skillfully she moved leading to the bridge.

Inside the cockpit there was very little to see and nothing out of the ordinary. There was a shipping manifest, listing the cargo as medical supplies with an item count along with the standard machinery that would control the ship. There was very little else of interest outside of that. Scarlett found the electronic control panel for communication throughout the ship and to the mainland then with the knife she kept in her boot, cut the wires. No one would be contacting anyone from the ship if she had her way. Sure that she hadn't missed anything on the bridge, Scarlett left down the same echoing stairs and walked around the deck until she found steps that would take her down to the deck below where she assumed she would find an entrance into the belly of the ship.

Flipping the switch on her Tesla glove to let it charge the electrical pulse, Scarlett took it slow. There was no rush. Morning was still a long way away. On the lower deck Scarlett found a pile of timber and slipped a few of the discarded thin pieces into her pocket. Once inside the ship she left the door open a crack, sneaking one of the thin boards in place to keep it that way. She'd do the same with each heavy door she found to provide a quick exit if necessary. Scarlett wasn't going to leave any stone unturned, not this time. If MedCo wanted to fuck with her then they had another thing coming. She was tired of being left in the dust, being one step behind. Scarlett would find proof of what they were up to and she'd finally have the leverage she needed.

The halls of the inner area of the ship were creepy to say the least. Lights flickered overhead occasionally creating shadows out of the corner of her eye that caused her to turn uneasily and make sure she was still alone. While she knew it was her subconscious playing tricks on her, she couldn't help but feel like she was being followed. How many horror movies had she seen where this was the hero's last moments before something horrific crept out of the shadows?

Then again, she wasn't _in_ a horror movie. Scarlett wasn't naïve enough to believe there _weren't_ monsters under the bed waiting to strike, but she didn't think they were waiting for her in the bed of the ship either. The only monsters she'd ever encountered were greedy people and that was bad enough. Checking each door on either side of her, Scarlett found very little of interest. There were boxes and boxes of actual medical supplies stored in each room that Scarlett assumed were there to keep up appearances and aid in biological experiments.

It hadn't occurred to Scarlett that the shipment could've been exactly what MedCo had claimed it to be. Perhaps there was nothing of interest at all on the boat. Stopping before another stairwell, Scarlett considered turning back. Maybe there was nothing to see. But then again, there was nothing benign about MedCo. They only did what they had to do in order to appear like a legitimate corporation.

What if her contact was on the take?

How had he gotten his hands on a signed copy of the shipping manifest in the first place? Scarlett's stomach turned to knots as she considered that the Indian man she'd used as a contact for years might have been bought by MedCo somewhere along the line. Even his concern for her could've been a tool to try and convince her to continue on after MedCo. He knew just how stubborn she was.

Or maybe Scarlett just wasn't capable of trust, not anymore, not after how many times she'd been double crossed. That was bad news for Tony.

Inching forward again and slowly down the stairs, Scarlett stopped on the platform between steps where the stairwell turned when the lights of the ship flickered off entirely. Closing her eyes she listened for the sounds of someone approaching or following her but heard nothing but the water crashing against the sides of the ship as the tide rolled in. Why was the power so unsteady on the ship?

The lights flickered back to life a few seconds later, but dimmer than they'd once been. It was like someone was draining the power slowly from old batteries. Something was technically wrong with the ship. Had she clipped the wrong wires when she'd been on the bridge? No, there was no way that she'd messed _that_ up. The electrical controls were likely further below in the ship, the only thing she'd put a stop to was communication.

Slipping a flashlight from the inside pocket of her jacket, Scarlett flicked it on and pointed it at the ground as she walked so she wouldn't miss her footing, keeping her focus straight ahead of her in case something came creeping out of the darkness.

Footsteps echoed somewhere in the distance, but she couldn't tell from where. There was too much metal on the ship, the sound vibrated all around her. The only way she'd be able to find the source would be to keep walking. For all she knew, it could've been her own footsteps echoing. Slowly Scarlett continued on her way, propping open doors and looking through storage compartments to make sure she hadn't missed anything. At the end of the next hallway, Scarlett found stashes of ammunition. Finally she was getting to something more interesting.

Whipping her phone out of her pocket, Scarlett quickly snapped a picture and noticed her battery was half drained. Hadn't it been fully charged before she'd left that evening to start her venture? No matter, as long as she got the proof she needed in the long run she'd be fine. There was still enough battery for her to do what she came to do. Even if she found nothing else, she had proof of weapons smuggling. It was almost a guarantee that ammunition was not on the shipping manifest and she'd found more than enough to launch an investigation of the company.

But still, instinct was telling her there was far more to see. At the same time it was telling her to run as fast as she could off of the ship to get out of harm's way. Starting on the steps to the belly of the boat, Scarlett heard a low menacing groan coming from somewhere on the floor below. Goose bumps broke out along her arms and back; it was unlike anything she'd ever heard before. It didn't sound human.

"I am _not_ Milla Jovovich," Scarlett whispered, trying to keep a level head. The shadows of the ship were more menacing than the noise had been. Every instinct inside of her was telling her to turn back and go with the little evidence she'd obtained. Escape before it was too late! The lights flickered again as she made her way down the third and final steps and into the final hallway. "This is _not_ the Hive." The joking made her nerves lessen but the fear was still there. Irrational fear that something horrible was coming out of the darkness to get her.

Aiming her flashlight across the floor in a sweeping motion, Scarlett checked each door and found nothing. At last she reached the end of the hallway and a large cargo door. It was the only place left to check and it was locked. Placing the end of her flashlight between her teeth, she held it in place while she tested the lock. It was a simple keypad entry code but by the time Scarlett hacked through the lock she would have lingered too long.

"I'm pretty sure I've _already_ lingered too long." She grimaced in confirmation. Instead of dealing with the lock on the keyboard, Scarlett placed the palm of her Tesla glove against the keypad and set off the charge. The lock shorted out and clicked open, just as she had hoped it would. It had been a risk, seeing as the lock might not have disengaged, but luckily it worked out in her favor. Placing the last bit of wood between the doorway to keep it open, Scarlett stepped into the larger than life cargo bay.

There were strange containers piled on top of each other throughout the bay, creating small pathways in between. They were each eight feet high, about seven feet wide and made from reinforced materials. Scarlett walked carefully with her flashlight aimed in front of her with one hand. She snapped a few pictures with her camera of the containers and surveyed the room. Before she investigated what was inside the odd containers she would want to make sure she was alone.

"…maybe I _am_ Milla Jovovich." She scoffed, trying to fight off the sound of her heartbeat echoing in her ears. There was something very wrong at the bottom of the cargo ship, Scarlett just didn't know what it was. Walking to the far end of the room, lights still flickering overhead, Scarlett saw a row of open cubicle-like spaces along the wall. Inside each were hospital beds, much like the ones she'd found in the facility outside of Madrid. But these beds were more horrific and far more graphic than what she had come across a few days prior.

Bodies lay on each bed, half maimed and just beginning to rot. Covering her mouth and stepping into each cubicle area to make sure each inhabitant was actually dead and couldn't be saved, Scarlett couldn't help but be disgusted. Her stomach churned but she choked back the bile rising in the back of her throat. There would be time to be nauseated and disturbed later. Someone had terminated the test subjects and recently at that. From what she knew about decay, she'd say sometime in the last two days, likely along the voyage. Lights sputtered overhead again as Scarlett pulled her phone out to take photos of the horrific experiments. As she snapped pictures in the last cubicle her phone battery beeped to alert her it was too low then the screen went black entirely as it died.

"What the hell?" Scarlett smacked the phone to try and bring it back to life but there was nothing she could do to recharge the battery. Hurriedly she slipped the phone inside a waterproof case and back into her pocket. Even if she never got a glimpse of what was in the large creates, she had proof of something horrific happening at MedCo's behest. The groan she'd heard earlier echoed again from somewhere behind her. This time it was much closer than it had been. Something knew she was in the cargo bay and viewed her as a threat.

Slipping her gun instinctively out of its holster Scarlett aimed it in either direction, pointing the beam of her flashlight toward each hallway that was created by the oversized storage crates. The power to the ship slowly faded and the flickering that had created haunting shadows died out altogether. Something was draining the remaining electricity and fast. Making her way out of the cubicles Scarlett started down the path that she'd taken to get inside and toward the entrance of the cargo bay. If there had ever been a sign to leave, it was staring her in the face in the darkness right then and there.

"Miss Damien…" The same growling voice echoed around the room. Scarlett turned in place, aiming her flashlight in each available hiding place nearby and pointing her gun at the same moment in search of the source of the voice but found nothing lurking in the shadows that wasn't created by her own imagination.

Slowly Scarlett continued toward where she knew the entrance was when the voice didn't continue taunting her. Could she be _that_ paranoid? Was she losing her mind? No. She was definitely suffering from some sort of post trauma confusion but there was no way she'd imagined a voice growling her name in the darkness.

What if the experiments being conducted in the back of the bay _hadn't_ gone wrong? What if something had gone right and then killed those who remained? Or something unrelated to those performing the experiments altogether! Maybe something inside the crates had broken loose. They were large enough to be holding prisoners. A loud crash behind Scarlett made her turn in sudden alert. Aiming her dimming flashlight toward the sound, Scarlett kept creeping toward the entrance. Something told her that no matter her skills, whatever was hunting her in the darkness was far more formidable than she could handle on her own.

"Do you feel hopeless yet? Lost? _Scared?_" Scarlett couldn't find the source of the voice but kept on her guard. The battery in her flashlight was failing her. The beam was dimming and getting smaller. Soon it began to waver unreliably and the torch went out altogether, leaving her in darkness with the ethereal growl taunting her overhead. It wasn't coming from the intercom so the source of the voice was definitely in the room with her. But where? It sounded like it was coming from everywhere! Closing her eyes, Scarlett hoped to adjust to the darkness quickly but would she be quick enough?

Sinister laughter from above gave her shivers down her spine. Opening her eyes, Scarlett made her way between storage containers, gun aimed at the ground and ready for a fight. Even after her vision adjusted, she could only just barely make out shapes around her. She'd been right to think that the ship had been a trap, but she had never expected anything _this _sinister_._ The worst Scarlett had imagined would be waiting for her would be Mikhail with some sort of torture device. But not some demented creature taunting her in the darkness. It definitely didn't sound like Mikhail, that was a voice she would never forget.

"Why don't you give up pretty girl? Put down that little gun and surrender." The voice seemed somehow familiar through the growling and low unnatural pitch. Where had she heard it before? She couldn't put her finger on it.  
"If you think I'm so weak then how about you show your face instead of making threats from up above?"

"Oh, you wouldn't like that, I think." There was a creaking noise above her and Scarlett made out the stack of crates nearby teetering dangerously. She could barely make out them being pushed by a large hunched figure. Rolling out of the way skillfully, Scarlett aimed her gun at the figure that was jumping over the fallen crates so it could disappear into the shadows and took two shots. The sickening, but familiar, sound of bullets tearing through flesh met her ears and Scarlett smirked successfully. Whatever it was that was chasing her, was clumsy and she'd managed to land a blow on the first shot. A foul odor filled the air and Scarlett gagged and covered her mouth with her arm. The crate that had fallen rolled in front of her to block her path and the door had opened, releasing a silvery mist into the air.

Coughing from the smell, Scarlett backed away from it as quickly as she could, keeping close to the crates so she would stay hidden. She listened for footsteps but didn't hear anything. Whatever was lurking overhead was unnaturally quiet, even against the reinforced metallic crates. Scarlett was very light footed but even she made sounds against the floor of the ship.

"We are bigger and stronger than you will ever be." The voice taunted again, sounding strangely doubled. Scarlett made her way through the crates quickly, being less cautious as she went. Whatever was after her had pushed one of the heavy crates like it had been nothing. That was certainly stronger than her. She would have to rely on her instincts and agility to avoid being ripped apart like the patients at the other end of the room.

"Every fable I've ever read has led me to believe that doesn't matter." Scarlett scoffed, keeping her voice low. Laughter followed once more.

"Relying on fairy tales for guidance are we? Sounds unlike the woman I know."

"Just making conversation." Scarlett glanced behind her and saw the door to the hallway within running distance.

"What is it you hope to accomplish?" Scarlett aimed her gun into the shadows, the voice clearly coming from somewhere in front of her. Holding her breath she listened, to avoid being ambushed.

"I want my life back," She whispered, being met with laughter again.

"What life? Chasing shadows? Destroying lives? No, Scarlett… you signed a deal with the devil and now he's cashing in."

"I'm not usually one for childish taunting, but _fuck _you." The figure in the shadows in front of her disappeared, seemingly becoming one with the silvery mist that had escaped the crate that had been destroyed. Walking backwards, gun still aimed at the ground, Scarlett bumped into something metallic. The doorway to one of the crates was left hanging open and a terrible smell filled the air around it. One look inside the crate and Scarlett could see mounds of oozing flesh on the floor. Something had been feeding inside of the storage container.

"Stubborn as ever. I told you, you little bitch, you will get what you deserve." The voice barked, temper obviously rising. Scarlett didn't want to be around when the creature completely lost its cool. She had a feeling she wouldn't stand a chance. There were sticky pools of blood on the floor outside of the crate. When she'd shot her weapon she'd wounded it, but it hadn't seemed to lose its edge.

This worried her.

As she drew closer to the door Scarlett could sense the danger becoming palpable. Just in time, Scarlett rolled out of the way as the creature ran at her on all fours. It had elongated arms and unnaturally thick tree trunk legs but the form was overall human. Landing on her knees, Scarlett watched as the creature crashed awkwardly to the ground when it failed to tackle her as it had planned. Taking two more shots at it, Scarlett watched the blood splash away as the bullets made contact.

Snarling loudly, the creature pounded at the ground and it shook the floor beneath her. Scarlett quickly got to her feet and backed between the crates, aiming her weapon. The gun didn't seem to do much good, but it slowed the creature down if nothing else. Even if he didn't feel the pain of the gunshots, eventually he would lose enough blood that he would lose some strength.

Unless Scarlett was wrong and this creature was something unlike anything she'd ever seen before and wouldn't slow down if a limb was lost. Before she could react the creature had jumped on top her. Keeping her grip on her gun as she was tackled to the ground, Scarlett reacted quickly. She was _not_ going to let some hybrid experiment get the best of her at least not without putting up one hell of a fight. Growling and drooling, Scarlett couldn't make out any features of the monster on top of her in the darkness of the cargo bay, but could discern the shape of a head looming over her.

Swinging her gun around, Scarlett smacked the creature hard in the head and then smashed the heel of her palm roughly into its fleshy face. It howled in reaction and leaned upwards. Guessing it would attack her and either try to claw her or smash her Scarlett twisted her legs up from beneath the creature and kicked it hard in the stomach. The force was enough to send the creature off of her by a foot.

One handed Scarlett grabbed onto the crate next to her and slid far enough away from the creature to get to her feet in a single jump. She slid away just in time and swung around the side of the crate running back toward where she'd nearly been crushed by one of them at the first appearance of the creature. Her eyes were adjusting to the darkness but it was still _too_ dark to make out much more than shapes in front of her. The creature leapt at her and swung its claws. The sound of bone against metal echoed throughout the room and made Scarlett gag. Twisting around she caught the form of the creature trying to pull its claws through the metal of the floor. The ship groaned in objection.

If the creature kept damaging the integrity of the ship, it would cause a leak and eventually start to sink. That wouldn't be such a bad thing if Scarlett could get out and manage to lock the creature inside as it sank into the depths of the ocean. Taking aim again, Scarlett fired the remaining bullets in her clip directly into the shape she guessed was the face of the creature. With a pained whine it fell back and dropped onto the floor, twitching. Seizing the opportunity, Scarlett reloaded her gun, discarded the old clip and then grabbed onto the top of the crate that had earlier been thrown at her.

With ease she lifted herself on top of the storage container then continued to climb until she was at the very top of the remaining stack. She could hear the creature getting back to its feet and gathering its bearings. The roaring picked up again and transformed into horrific yells of horrible insults.

"You bitch! You think you're stronger than us? You're a fool! Walked right into our trap!" It hissed. "You will _never_ have your life back, I will make sure of it! Every step you take I will haunt you, every corner you turn I will be there!" Ignoring the taunts and the sound of the creature climbing up the crates behind her, Scarlett hurried toward where she remembered the entrance had been and cursed under her breath as the monster drew closer. Holstering her gun momentarily, Scarlett leapt off of the last crate and grabbed onto the frame of the door, making sure her feet didn't slam against the ground at the risk of breaking a bone. Using the frame she swung so her feet pushed hard against the door, forcing it open and out of her way. Having propped open the doors had come in more than handy.

The creature was right on her tail, swinging at her wildly in a rage. She could feel the air moving against the back of her neck from the claws that swung at her. A second swing caught on her trench coat. Scarlett slipped one arm free and then the other and threw the trench coat in the face of her enemy before using the Tesla device to shock him away through the coat. He flew backwards and Scarlett slammed the door closed hard and twisted the lock so it would stay that way.

Dents appeared in the metal of the door as the creature slammed into it from the other side, trying to break through to get to its prey. Howling and screeching what Scarlett assumed were more insults, it desperately tried to get to her. Not wasting any time to watch the creature try to get to her, Scarlett ran down the hallway and stopped at one of the far rooms to pick up some extra ammunition to replace the clips she'd left in her coat before taking it off. Thankfully her phone had been safely stored within the pocket of her jeans. Halfway up the stairs to the next floor, Scarlett was forced to stop in the middle of the stairwell when the creature came tearing through the metallic walls and blocked her path.

"Strong little shit, aren't you?" Scarlett dodged another blow from claws, ducking low on the stairs. Using the railing she pulled out of the way of another blow, then jumped onto the railing itself. Shocking the creature again with the Tesla glove, Scarlett then stepped on its shoulder, jumped against the wall of the stairwell and over the monster's head so she could continue upward. While she moved she tried to get a better look in the darkness, but could barely make out the shapes of a face once again. The eyes were enlarged and unnatural and the mouth was contorted hideously.

Hurrying out of the stairwell, Scarlett ducked low when the creature swung for her again but was grabbed as she made an attempt to leap forward. Falling face first onto the ground, she kicked at her assailants long claws and then at its face as it drew closer. Managing to break free of his grip and get to her feet, Scarlett's escape was short lived. The monster grabbed her by the shoulder, swung her hard against the wall and then pinned her there on the stairs.

Placing her gloved hand against the creatures face, Scarlett shocked him again with as much juice as her glove could give on such a short charge then kneed it hard in the stomach as it growled in response.

"You bitch! You little bitch!" It cursed, slashing aimlessly at her and missing from its sloppy blows. Now free of its clutches, Scarlett grabbed one of its swinging arms and twisted the creature around so it was facing the stairs. Grabbing onto the exit sign above the stairwell, Scarlett kicked the creature in the back and knocked it down the remaining stairs. Once it had fallen, she didn't wait to see him land before turning her grip on the sign and jumping out of the stairwell.

The creature was right on her tail as she made it into the next hallway. Rounding a corner toward where she remembered the final stairwell to be, Scarlett felt encouraged. When her assailant came bounding at her claws first, Scarlett grabbed one of the open doors to a side room and jumped inside just as the creature flew past her. Hurrying out of the doorway Scarlett aimed her gun, cocked it and shot again to lure him back toward her. As he leapt sloppily at her once more, Scarlett managed to sneak back into the room. Confined spaces were her best friend at the moment. Rage seemed to be getting the best of the monster that seemed to know way too much about her and thankfully she'd managed to keep a level head.

She may not have been as fast or as strong as the creature pursuing her, but she was smarter and quick to think on her feet. When the creature got closer to her, she slammed the open door hard into its face and then smashed it a second time with the same door. It stumbled backward and growled at her again.

"I will make you pay…" The creature snarled. Scarlett could imagine its lips curled in annoyance, revealing horribly sharp and unnatural teeth. Seeing the light of the moon at the far end of the hallway, signaling that the stairwell was near, Scarlett walked backwards through the hallway her gun aimed toward the creature. She fired the remaining bullets in her clip straight into the monster's face as she walked. Each blow shook the creature and sent a spray of blood splattering against the wall. At long last with the final shot, as Scarlett reloaded her clip prepared to shoot more, the creature laid on the ground, weak and struggling to breathe. Curiosity gripped her, urging her to try and get a good look at its face, but logic helped her keep her distance. Firing one more shot for good measure, Scarlett tore around the corner of the room and ran toward the stairs.

The ground groaned behind her and began to give. The damage the creature had done had been too much and under its weight had given out. She could hear the sound of flesh crashing against metal below and internally felt relieved. Still, she couldn't help but want to get off the ship quickly. Around another corner, Scarlett hurried past open doors and could see the stairs a few feet in front of her.

Just as she was about to set foot on the bottom step, the metal beneath her feet disappeared. The creature came crawling right through the floor, claws first! Scarlett scrambled to grab onto the stairs and lift herself up to avoid falling into the pit, but the creature got to her first. Grabbing her by the ankle he threw her backwards into the hallway. She slid, managing to shake her ankle free from his grip and roll onto her stomach.

"Damnit!" Scarlett yelled, seeing no point in being stealthy any longer. They were making enough noise fighting amidst her escape that anyone within ten square blocks would hear them. As the creature got closer she kicked it hard in the face, turning onto her back, but it persisted.

"You little bitch! You think you could double cross us and get away with it?" The voice still seemed familiar still, the threat even seemed familiar but Scarlett couldn't put her finger on _why_ it was familiar and it wasn't exactly the time for her to search her memory or the source. Reaching for the knife she kept in her boot, Scarlett was forced to stop reaching when claws came for her. She barely rolled out of the way in time.

"Double crossed _you?_ Seriously? Is anyone paying attention besides me?" Out of breath, Scarlett coughed to get rid of the cling in her throat. As claws grabbed at her neck, Scarlett managed barely to grab the handle of her knife, remove it from her boot and without a second thought sliced the creatures hand clean off of its wrist. The knife stuck on the bone at first but with a second slice, Scarlett found the tissue that kept them attached and slipped it free.

As the creature growled and recoiled in pain and misery, Scarlett pulled the smelly, oozing hand away from her throat and threw it behind her. Using the form of the hunched creature for leverage, Scarlett jumped against the wall, onto its back and over the monster entirely. She then used the nearby doorway to swing over the hole created on the floor beneath her. Stumbling as she reached the steps, Scarlett nearly fell flat on her face but managed to recover before doing so.

Using the railing of the stairs, Scarlett took them three at a time and continued doing so until she reached the deck of the ship. Leaping out of the doorway as the creature recovered and came for her to seek revenge for its lost hand, Scarlett dove onto her stomach. Rolling onto her back and scooting backwards, Scarlett managed to scatter onto her feet before the monster left the stairwell. As the creature came toward her, in the light of the moon, recognition immediately dawned on her.

Erick Reno, one of the three heads of MedCo, but hideously malformed and changed in ways Scarlett didn't understand, was lumbering toward her. Raising her gun again, Scarlett fired rounds repeatedly into the chest of the creature that seemed all too pleased to be recognized. The last time Scarlett had seen that man, he'd been calling her a little bitch and threatening her in disgusting ways. That was at least until she'd shot him in the head and left him to die before escaping the MedCo facility in South Africa.

The last set of stairs that would take her to the upper deck of the ship was in sight. Scarlett grabbed onto the railing and slid underneath it before jumping up the final few steps. Turning around she faced Erick who jumped up the steps in a single bound and aimed her weapon at his chest again after reloading.

"I killed you!" Scarlett growled out of breath, emptying her clip into the stomach of the creature and reloading her final bit of ammo. Her hands were trembling. What was she seeing? What had MedCo done? Scarlett had watched Erick die and had left him to be consumed by an explosion of her own creation. Erick slowed drastically and though each bullet that tore through him ripped through his already mangled flesh, he didn't stop walking toward her menacingly. He could see the recognition and the fear in her eyes and it delighted him.

"I've been remade. Aren't you happy to see me?" Erick smirked, cocking his head unnaturally to the side. "You left me gasping for breath, drowning in my own blood. Then you blew me up. Aren't you happy to have my death off your conscience you little bitch?" He snarled at her, taking a swing with his long claws. Scarlett ran around a series of containers on the deck and rushed out of the way of the blow. Bullets didn't seem to do much but slow Erick down and make a disgusting mess on the deck. She put the gun away and flipped a switch on her Tesla glove that would channel energy to the mechanism that Tony had built for her out of scrap metal. Erick leapt on top of the containers and glared down at her menacingly, a twisted smile on his wounded face.

"The others want you to be next, you know." Erick jumped down onto the deck and pounced at her. Scarlett rolled backwards and out of the way. All she could do was dodge blow after blow and hope not to get caught. She ran toward the bridge of the ship again, hoping to gain some leverage by having something to grab onto. Besides the storage containers and a few pipes that allowed smoke to escape the ship there was little for her to hide behind on the upper deck. Scarlett's agility wouldn't keep her safe forever. Eventually she would be caught and she hoped by then the weapon would be charged enough to do some serious damage.

"Well, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint them."

"I agree with you for once." Erick ran his claws against the side of the bridge, creating an unnatural scraping sound akin to nails on a chalkboard. Scarlett could see that the bones of his fingers had been elongated and split through his flesh creating the claws that threatened her.

"Well, I'm glad we can agree on _something._" Scarlett ran around the back of the bridge and toward the railing. She made an attempt to get around the other side of the bridge but Erick leapt on top of the roof and threatened to jump in whichever direction she picked. Scarlett was cornered at the back of the ship.

"By the time I'm done with you, you little _bitch_ they won't want you anymore." Erick laughed sadistically, repeating his taunt over and over again. "I'll ruin you, every bit of you. Every shred of dignity and strength you possess I will strip it from you. I want to hear you scream in pain and beg for mercy for what you did to me…"

"Okay, so maybe we don't agree so much."

"You want your life back? What makes you so much more deserving than me? Look at me? This is no life! No life! And it's your fault!"

"You should've thought of that before holding a gun to my head. What did you think I was going to do? Roll over and take it?" Scarlett walked backwards toward the railing of the ship where she'd tied one of the ropes in hopes of assisting her escape earlier in the night. Erick crept closer to her and Scarlett gripped onto the rope behind her back, twisting it in various loops and waiting for opportunity to arise.

"If you had just done your damn job!"

"Should've done your research pal, I work for _no one_." When Erick lunged at her in anger, that same disgusting look in his eyes she remembered seeing when he'd threatened her in the facility what seemed like so long ago, Scarlett lunged out of the way and threw the rope around him, the various loops getting caught on what was left of his limbs. Turning to try and catch her before she could get away, Erick only succeeded in tangling himself further in the rope that Scarlett had been holding.

Backing away as Erick struggled with the rope, Scarlett pulled the ignition switch from within her pocket and flipped it before tossing it over the railing. An explosion rocked the dock, sending each ship in the yard swaying on the water from the force it created. Scarlett hadn't quite expected that intense of an explosion to be set off but was glad for it. Erick was distracted by the flames momentarily so Scarlett seized opportunity and ran as quickly as she could toward the opposite end of the ship. Bruised, scraped up and out of breath, she ran though her lungs stung painfully in objection from the lack of oxygen.

Erick tore through the ropes in frustration and ran after her as the fire spread from the end of the dock, consuming every bit of flammable material in its path. The tanks of gas placed near boats for fuel only aided in the destruction created by the flames as they spread to several ships that were tied too closely to the dock. The heat of the fire could be felt all the way on the deck of the large cargo ship.

"Do you think that you can really stop me? And if you _can_ stop me do you really think you could stop _them_?" He growled angrily as he marched toward her where she'd cornered herself at the bow of the ship. The blood loss seemed to finally be getting to him. Color had drained from his mutilated flesh.

"I don't need to stop you." Scarlett shook her head, trying to catch her breath to no avail. The familiar whir of her glove filled her with confidence. "That's not my job." Confusion fluttered across Erick's face but quickly transformed into rage. He lunged again at Scarlett but she aimed her glove toward him and fired the weapon Tony had built for her.

The laser beam hit him dead in the chest and knocked him flying across the ship and onto the deck below. Quickly she set the glove to recharge, hearing sounds of him skittering wildly and sloppily in an attempt to get back up. Smoke gathered around the ship, the fire had spread onto the deck and was quickly catching every which way. There was no chance that Scarlett could get back onto the dock now, not with the chaos she'd created. Shouting could be heard from far away and splashing like people were trying to put out the flames. With the accelerant Scarlett had mixed, it would take much more than a little water to put the fire out. She'd practically spread napalm across the dock.

If the laser beam hadn't killed Erick, Scarlett didn't have anything that would. Rushing toward the nearest rope Scarlett had tied to the railing, she grabbed onto it. Growling returned behind her so she moved faster. The fire was getting closer and if she waited too long, she'd be caught in the mess she'd created. Sirens rang in the distance as police were alerted of the disaster happening at the shoreline.

"I'm not going to let you get away…" Erick's snarl was low and menacing, but weak and fading. Scarlett snuck between the railing and onto the outside of the ship. Propping her feet on the railing and preparing to dive off the edge, Scarlett leapt. Just as she did, Erick grabbed her leg and pulled her back.

"You don't have a choice!" Scarlett turned and aimed the glove at Erick again. While it wasn't fully charged for a second blow, Scarlett hoped it would be enough to give her a chance to get away. The laser went off and hit Erick in the face, burning away half of his flesh. With a high pitched yelp, Erick let go of her with his remaining hand and flew backwards onto the ship with the force of the laser.

Scarlett's ankle was free, but she couldn't grab onto the railing or the rope in time. As she fell off the side of the ship, she tried to straighten out her position but momentum had gotten the best of her. Her head clunked loudly against the side of the ship and left black spots in her vision. Kicking away from the ship so she wouldn't hit it a second, Scarlett's vision turned dark as her body crashed into the dark cold water with a loud splash that was overshadowed by sirens.


	18. Giving Back

_[[I have a tumblr for my writing. You can find my updates and if I'm going to miss a week or have new art, because I draw quite often. Give it a follow if you like .com ]]_

Afghanistan was high on Tony's top ten list of his least favorite places to visit on the planet. It wasn't that he wasn't fond of the Middle East or anything, that wasn't the case at all. There were some fantastic and exotic places to party in the desert and Tony knew each and every one of them. Actually there were legends about the parties Tony had been to, but he wouldn't be telling anyone about that.

But ever since he'd been taken hostage while giving a weapons demonstration years ago Tony had avoided the place like the plague unless he absolutely _had_ to go there and that had rarely occurred. He'd returned several times as Iron Man to take care of personal business with and frequently when he'd first developed the suit but that was a long time ago, or at least it felt like a long time ago. Back then he'd been lost and angry without anyone to take his frustrations out on so he'd taken his vengeance out on the thugs and gangs that ran rampant in that part of the world.

Tony Stark had been without direction for the first time in his life.

Thankfully, with the help of his assistant Pepper and best friend Rhodey he'd been able to harness his post traumatic stress into something more constructive and eventually move on. At times he still struggled but so many positive things had grown from his terrible experience that he couldn't hold the grudge forever.

He hoped Scarlett would know how hard it was for him to return to the scene of his life changing event in order to discover more about hers and would be easy on him when she discovered he betrayed her trust _again_. She hadn't tried to call him after he'd left and he partially wondered if she was doing alright. After all, she'd been sick and riddled with nightmares when he'd left her alone. He hadn't expected her to call, but kept checking his phone anyway. Tony had bigger fish to fry at the moment; he'd give her a call after he'd finished up his investigation.

People stopped to look at him curiously as he walked through the small town in his designer suit and expensive sunglasses but Tony ignored the stares. It wouldn't have mattered who he was, the town was small enough that anyone unknown wouldn't go unnoticed. Tony was used to being the center of attention so he barely noticed it.

Oddly enough, the buildings were in excellent condition which was definitely not what Tony had been expecting. Approaching the homes that should've been slums considering the way the surrounding locations had looked on the way over, Tony realized something was terribly amiss.

Not that he was under the impression that every place in the Middle East was the third world, he knew far better than that. But _this particular_ place so far in the desert, so hidden from the rest of civilization and the cities that thrived with industry should've been filled with slums, half decaying buildings, and people who didn't have clean water or roofs over their heads. The technology he saw was far more sophisticated than it ever should've been. What was going on in this place? It had proved to be exactly the opposite of what he'd envisioned. There were gardens on each porch, the streets were clean and people seemed friendly and welcoming.

Tony became suspicious that MedCo had something more to do with the town than he'd thought. But he had no proof of it. There was construction going on at the far end of the town square that was immaculate, inviting and festive. Maybe after he was done at the hospital he would investigate the construction area and search for evidence of MedCo's involvement.

But if Scarlett had been here in the past wouldn't she have noticed and remembered the name when they offered her a job? He became skeptical that MedCo was involved just by that thought. Even if it wasn't related to MedCo Tony had a strong feeling about what he'd discover. This place was important to Scarlett in some way or another and while he wasn't sure of the details he figured that she would've done her research before contributing in any way. Picking up his phone he sent her a text message just to settle his thoughts. And maybe he missed her, he wasn't about to admit them though.

Along the side of the road Tony found a group of small children playing. He'd only spotted others who were in the midst of working and they would ask more questions than children would. It was less likely that they would recognize him. The group stopped to stare at him suspiciously, obviously not trusting him. He had to search his memory but it took Tony only a few seconds to recall the few words he knew in the language. While the town was relatively small, he still didn't know where he was going. Tony knew more languages than most, but was less familiar with the ones in the Middle East.

Once he convinced them to trust him enough to answer his questions Tony received directions from the apprehensive children then made his way toward the hospital. It was an old building undergoing renovations on either side. Compared to the buildings surrounding it, it wasn't nearly as advanced. He was surprised considering that was where he was sure the money from Scarlett's account was going to. Tony pulled off his sunglasses, tucked them in his pocket and then slipped his hands into his pockets as he walked through the front doors. The interior was clean and pristine. It was like walking into a hospital in Malibu. Apparently appearances could be incredibly deceiving. Confidently Tony walked to the front desk and looked down at the receptionist, waiting to be acknowledged.

Seconds passed before the woman glanced up at Tony and was immediately flustered upon realizing who she was face to face with. Even though he was in one of the farthest reaches of the world his face was recognizable. Flashing the woman his most charming smile, Tony leaned his forearms against the tall receptionist desk and tapped his fingers against the surprisingly nice quality surface.

"You speak English, yes?" The woman spoke with a soft accent, but her English was near perfect which surprised Tony. He'd severely underestimated Afghanistan.

"Yes, along with five other languages but that's not the point now is it?" The receptionist smiled and averted her eyes, playing right into the game of flirting that Tony had started up.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Stark?"

"Oh, you recognized me? I had no idea I was that well known out here." Tony glanced around him like someone else might jump out at him and ask for an autograph at any second.

"You are a very prominent figure in the technology industry and I happen to be a big fan. I can't speak for the rest of my colleagues…"

"I guess it has nothing to do with my dashing good looks then, hmm?" Clicking his tongue, Tony shook his head with disappointment and sighed dramatically. "You know there actually _is_ something you can do for me."

"Or _to_ you, perhaps?" The receptionist batted her eyelashes playfully, giving her bottom lip a bite.

"Oh, getting right down to it, are we?" Tony rose his eyebrows curiously and then straightened out his jacket, the smirk still on his face. Would Scarlett be jealous? "But today I'm here strictly on business."

"I would be happy to help you in any way I can, Mr. Stark."

"Call me Tony, Mr. Stark was my father." Tony straightened his tie. Being called Mr. Stark made him cringe now thanks to Scarlett's insistence on calling him by his last name in an attempt to remain emotionally distant from him. She still did it when she was irritated with him and it had a confusing effect on him. When it wasn't Scarlett it mostly made him uncomfortable.

"Of course, Tony." The woman was more than flustered by the handsome billionaire. She was practically eating out of his palm. It'd been awhile since Tony had had a woman nipping at his heels and he remembered why it became so boring. Not that he didn't like the attention; he loved it, but it was far less rewarding than it had once been. Being hit on my strange women in different places around the world no longer had the thrill it once had.

"I have a few questions about someone who was a patient here."

"I'm afraid that most of our patient information is confidential but I'll help you with what I can." The woman smiled politely but seemed less playful now that Tony hadn't shown any interest in what she had offered. Regardless Tony knew with some prying he could convince the receptionist to tell him whatever he wanted.

"Well, it's actually a former patient that I'm curious about. I was hoping I could speak to someone who might have worked here… I guess about a year ago? Her case was peculiar and I'm sure she wouldn't be forgotten but I don't know too many of the details… If someone who remembered her could give me a few minutes of their time…" Tony theorized. If he could trust the dates in the bank account that he'd hacked his way into then Scarlett's absence had taken place around that time. He could've been way off with his math, but as Tony so often argued, his math was very rarely wrong.

"Well what kind of information is it you require? I'll see if I can look up the patient files and contact someone for you."

"Thank you for your help. There was a woman here… someone very important to me." Immediately the receptionist seemed disappointed but Tony continued anyway. He was sure many women would be disappointed when they realized he was _actually_ unattainable and it wasn't one of the many flings he'd had in the past. In a way, he'd _always_ been unattainable. Women had just been naïve enough to think otherwise. "She's not the kind of woman who is easy to forget. Beautiful, dangerous and… has blue eyes that are both judging you and staring into your soul. Pretty tall, curvy…" Tony moved his hands in an hour glass shape as if to prove that she was. "She was hurt pretty badly, though I don't know the specifics." The receptionist's face drained of color and Tony knew he'd struck a nerve. Apparently Scarlett had made a very memorable impression.

For a few fleeting moments he'd thought he had barked up the wrong tree by following Scarlett's money trail. The town was far beyond its years in advancement and seemed incredibly, for lack of a better word, peaceful. What secrets were they hiding beneath the surface? Even with the money Scarlett was providing there was no way the whole town could've advanced that much.

"So you know her, huh? Not the reaction _I'd_ give when thinking about her but…"

"I can't help you. I'm sorry." The receptionist turned away in her chair and began typing furiously on her keyboard and shuffling files away, her hands visibly shaking. Tony cocked an eyebrow curiously and straightened his jacket before glancing up and down the hallways.

"Can't help me or won't?"

"There was no woman here like you described. No white women have been here for a long time. No blue eyes, no terrible injuries. You are in the wrong place Mr. Stark."

"I never said she was _white._" Tony pointed an accusing finger and walked around the side of the receptionist desk, doing his best to remain non-threatening. His nerves were far more on edge than he had previously thought.

"I misspoke. English is not my first language."

"That's a lie too. You're a terrible liar. You grew up India so English _is_ your native language. You see, uh… you have a very specific accent. Since you seem to know so much about me, you know I'm not wrong." Tony grabbed the back of the woman's chair and spun her so she was forced to face him. Startled with a gasp, the woman leaned back into her chair, fear in her gaze. "I need to know what happened. I won't leave until I get some answers."

"I'm afraid I can't help you."

"You don't understand how important this is." Tony shook the chair and looked at the woman seriously. "Or how persistent I can be."

"What's going on in here?" An older man, worn but with kind eyes, hurried over upon seeing the predicament in his front office.

"I was just asking the lady some questions about a patient." Tony didn't take his hands away from the chair the woman sat in. While she was pale she didn't look frightened, more worried than anything else. He was searching in her eyes for a truth he wouldn't find. Tony never was very good at reading people. Body language was one thing but finding the truth was another.

"I insist you leave at once!" The doctor walked up to Tony hesitantly, setting down a clipboard on the desk in the process. "I will call security!"

"This is between me and the lady. Once I get what I came for I'll be on my way but no sooner." Tony once again didn't turn his attention away from the frightened woman. "Look, I'm not going to hurt anybody or cause any trouble. I just need to know a few…"

"If you don't leave…"

"You'll _what?_" Tony stood up straight and turned toward the doctor. His frustration finally got the better of him. "Tell me, what is it you'll do? The same thing you did to Scarlett?"

"I don't know who you're talking about but if you don't leave then I'm going to have call security!" The doctor grabbed Tony's shoulder to try and urge him away from the receptionist who was still staring in awe but was shrugged away.

"I'm not leaving without answers." The commotion had attracted onlookers, but none of them made a move to interfere. They simply watched with curiosity.

The doctor grabbed Tony's shoulder again more roughly causing Tony to act on his guard. Grabbing the doctor's wrist, Tony twisted him around and then snatched him by the collar of his white coat before pushing him hard against the wall. Throwing his hands up on either side of him defensively, the doctor practically quaked in his boots, his glasses hanging awkwardly on his nose.

"There was a woman here sometime in the last year! Something horrible happened to her _here_ and I need information and so help me god if you _don't_ help me I will…" Tony drifted off, unsure of what his threat actually would be. What would he do? Send their computer systems back in time twenty years? He couldn't attack them just because they wouldn't answer some questions. Just as the nurse had done, the doctor's face blanched at the mention of a woman who had been there.

"I do not know what you're talking about… There was no woman like that here!"

"You're lying to me!"

"We can't help you, sir… Please put me down!"

"You're going to help me whether you like it or not." Tony tightened his grip on the man's collar, practically foaming at the mouth.

"Why should I help a man who is threatening me harm?" The doctor's eyes dulled and Tony could tell that they'd seen this sort of rage before and likely from men much more threatening than he was.

"Because I love her and I _need_ to know what happened so I can help her!" Tony loosened his grip on the man's collar. Where had that rage come from? It wasn't like Tony to snap off the handle like that. He was much more a lover than a fighter and generally solved all of his problems with sarcasm and humor. For some reason he had known that his clever quips wouldn't fly in this place. Plus being so close to the scene of his captivity had put him on edge. So on edge that Tony had the bracelets for the Mark VII already on his wrists and ready to go if things even got a little out of hand.

Weighing his options, the doctor placed his hands at either side of him, looked to the receptionist who had picked up the phone to call security and nodded his head. She put down the phone and sighed with relief, though still glanced at Tony with a mixture of confusion and admiration.

"I will help you, but not here." Lowering his voice, the doctor nodded to the side. Reluctantly Tony let go of him and took a step back before rubbing his hand against his scruff. Why had his words swayed the doctor? What had he said differently? None of this made sense. "Follow me." Once sure that Tony wasn't going to jump on him again the doctor led him down the long clean hallway and around a few corners. Tony realized as they walked further into the hospital just how advanced the technology really was there. There were hospitals in the United States that didn't have the machinery made available to these people. Was it all thanks to the donations Scarlett was making each month from her bank account?

For some reason Tony had expected the money to be going toward some sort of blackmail by the time he'd gotten there. Donations didn't make sense. Why would she donate to a place where she had suffered? She was having horrible nightmares, not pleasant recollections.

Once inside a small office in the central area of the hospital, Tony was offered a chair to sit in while the doctor busied himself around the room. Mumbling in his native language on the phone, Tony could guess by the words he pieced together that he was canceling an appointment so that he could devote his time to the explosive man who had entered his lobby asking questions.

"What can I do for you, sir?" The doctor turned in his chair and offered a waning smile.

"Tony... Stark." He nodded his head and readjusted in his chair. It was weirdly uncomfortable and he couldn't seem to sit still. "There was a woman here in the last year and I doubt anyone here has forgotten her considering how your receptionist practically turned into a ghost when I asked about her."

"Tell me a bit more about this woman." Cryptic was the only word Tony could think of to describe the doctor's tone. Why was everyone so reluctant to talk about what happened in the last year?

"Jeez, doc, what is this, the secret service?" Tony lightened up a bit. Now that he didn't have to fight his way for information, he could at last relax. But it wasn't exactly that easy either. For all he knew, he'd walked into the bear's den.

"I want to make sure you are not going to cause her further harm with information we provide you with."

"She's um… well, she's tall, mid-thirties I think, not that you could tell by looking at her. Curly brown hair, blue eyes… and I'm sorry but every other description I have for her is incredibly sexual and increasingly vulgar. You're lucky I was able to muster that much. But I can assure you that I don't wish to cause her any harm. I mean a good spanking every so often, but that's as far as I go most of the time…"

"I believe I know the woman that you're talking about but I need to know why you want this information. There was only one woman like that here in the last year and you were right she was unforgettable but not for the reasons you are implying." The doctor fixed his glasses as well as his collar.

"Well, that's the thing. I need to know what those reasons were. I know she's giving you money every month for something. At first I thought it was a pay off or something seedy but… she's donating to the community isn't she? Things here are far more advanced than they are in neighboring cities."

"She is donating every month. I always suspected the money came from her but I never knew for sure and try as I might I found no trace of her. One day I found an envelope in my office with a letter and a sizable amount of money. It said nothing but thank you in my language. Ever since then we have received anonymous donations in the same amount every month from different accounts. When we tried to investigate so we could find out the identity of this generous benefactor we were met with dead ends. Eventually we just accepted she was a mystery and kept our gratitude within our hearts. The money we could not use here we gave to the community to make it safer and better for future generations." Tony leaned back in his uncomfortable chair and reflected on what he'd learned.

He'd suspected something was up in the town from the moment he'd arrived but he hadn't expected it to be all caused by Scarlett. While he'd seen the money from her account he'd suspected it was lining someone's pocket, not rebuilding a fallen community. Did Scarlett have any idea how much her donations had impacted them? It was possible she'd changed all their lives in some way without even knowing it.

"But before I tell you more or answer your questions, Mr. Stark, I need to know why you're asking about this woman. There have been others asking about her but we have not given any information about her. We have played dumb with every other inquisitor until you showed up."

"If your receptionist hadn't been flirting with me then you probably could've fooled me too but I took her off guard." Tony leaned forward in his chair, elbows against his knees. "Look, she's having nightmares." Closing his eyes, Tony recalled the agony she'd been in and how many times she'd woken up barely remembering where she was. Scarlett was suffering and wouldn't even admit that was the case. Naturally he'd fall for someone as stubborn as an ox. "She won't tell me what happened and our relationship as it is… well, it's fragile."

"Nightmares?" The doctor frowned, but didn't seem surprised.

"Yeah, bad ones too. The waking up screaming, sweating and vomiting kind of nightmares. She says it's nothing but I feel like there's something more than she's willing to share. Look, I _need_ to know what happened. Something bad is happening and amidst it all she's remembering what happened here. I get the feeling that it's relevant to what's happening now. But she won't tell me so I'm taking matters into my own hands to get to the bottom of it. It's sleazy but she knew I was sleazy before she slept with me so… I think it works out." Tony rationalized, the thought bringing a smile to his face. This was pretty expected behavior from him.

"You said you loved her when you were yelling at me earlier, is that true? You want to help her?"

"That's all I want. Trust me doc, I've been through some nasty stuff in this country." Tony knocked his index finger against the metal of the reactor in his chest. "I wouldn't come back if it wasn't important to me."

"I'm afraid I have limited information to offer you. I can only tell you what I experienced with her. I was her doctor then, you see."

"You were?" Tony had the distinct feeling that he had been before he'd mentioned it, considering how protective he'd been acting.

"I thought she was going to die that first night."

"What happened to her?" Tony averted his eyes. He didn't particularly want to hear this story but he knew he had to. What was this morbid curiosity he had when it came to Scarlett's past? Most of it seemed unreal to him, considering how she'd lived her life much like an actual spy. Tony had been fascinated by the excitement of it at first but now it was all becoming terribly real and he wasn't a fan. Was Scarlett as frustrated by his history as he was by hers? Undoubtedly considering how vocal she'd been about what a selfish chauvinist pig he was when they first met.

"I don't know. I can only guess." Tony grunted in frustration and leaned back against the chair before recalling how incredibly uncomfortable it was and sitting up straight once more. Why did she have to have so many secrets? Couldn't she be an open book like he was? Did it really bother him that she had secrets or did it bother him that he couldn't figure them out as easily as he had hoped to?

"Tell me what you know and… I'll figure it out from there."

"A friend's son found her in the middle of the street face down in the dirt, sweaty and sick. She was bleeding heavily and had a dangerously high fever." Closing his eyes, the doctor seemed to be drawing the memory from the reaches of his mind. His hands were visibly shaking. Whatever happened had clearly had a very vivid and profound effect on him.

"In the middle of the street?"

"She had been running from something from what I gathered." Opening his eyes, Tony noted that the doctor looked distant. "The boy ran inside and got his grandfather since his father, my friend, worked late to support his family. He lifted her up and carried her, running to the hospital which is here. She was delirious and saying things that didn't make sense to me or anyone. My friend's father does not speak English so I cannot say if she said anything important then. But by the time she got to me, she was saying things that never made sense and never will. I can give you a transcript that I had the nurse make up for me but… I don't think you will find much. It was mostly about pain and death. I was convinced she would die before the morning and she seemed to think the same."

Tony felt a lump in his throat and gritted his teeth behind his stony expression. The urge to stop the story and walk out was stronger than he had expected it to be. Tony wanted to know the truth, right? So why couldn't he listen to it now that he was hearing it?

"But obviously she didn't."

"Your friend is very strong. Various infections caused by malnutrition and filthy conditions that I am guessing she was kept in were ravaging her. I gave her as many antibiotics as I had but we are a very small hospital and at the time we had nothing but the bare bones. Our facility was not clean, was outdated and we had very limited medication. My partner at the time, who helped me open this place told me I should let her die. She was not from our town and whatever trouble she had gotten into she had likely brought upon herself. He thought she was a waste of medication."

"No one would've blamed you if you had let her die." Tony hated to say it, but he understood why the people of the poor town wouldn't want to waste their limited medical supplies on a stranger. Scarlett had gotten lucky that she had wound up in the care of a doctor who took his job seriously.

"I do not _let_ people die, Tony. It is not in my nature. I love people. I took this job to save them not to watch them suffer. My partner no longer works here. I saw his true colors that night and knew he would cause only harm in the long run." The doctor swallowed hard, removed his glasses and then pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger in thought. This was obviously a difficult memory for him to recall.

"You're a better man than most." Tony recalled the man who had saved his life and also damned him to living with a battery in his chest for the rest of his days. He had never been so grateful and was sure he never would be again.

"Thank you." He smiled warily. "I was able to get her fever down and the nurses helped me clean her up. There were broken bones and wounds that had been opened on multiple occasions. It was clear the woman had been tortured and I honestly reconsidered my decision to keep her around. She had escaped her torture, there was no doubt. It was the only thing I could make out from her words that made any sense. Whoever did that to her had not let her go and instead had lost her. They would be looking for her, I was sure. But I could see kindness in her eyes behind the delirium. She did not deserve to die, not like that." Tears welled up in the eyes of the man. What he had seen had filled him with sorrow and Tony knew at once that the doctor was a genuinely good man.

Maybe he'd add onto the contribution that Scarlett was making. It was rare to find good doctors and even rarer in such far corners of the world. He'd have to talk to Scarlett about it first. As much as she didn't want to dig into the old wound, Tony knew better than anyone that she would have to face what happened before she could begin to really heal.

"We hid her. I had a feeling that she would be missed so we kept her in an old part of the hospital that was falling apart. I would've had nightmares about it too if I had been kept there but… I was right to do so. Men came looking for her the next morning. They were not good men."

"Who were they? Do you know?"

"I have seen American movies Tony and I believe you would call them gangsters though they would not call themselves that. They claim to do good for the community and they have done some decent things and made contributions but they are glorified thugs. They get money by threatening and causing harm. Someone must have paid them a large sum of money to have taken her and to have harmed her as severely as they had. If it had been on their own accord they would've killed her."

"These gangsters… Did they say _why_ they needed her?" Tony was guessing the answer but if he didn't ask and the answer was right in front of him then he knew he would regret it. Was someone really hired to torture Scarlett? And if so, then who? Why would anyone want to torture her? Then again, Tony only knew fragments of her past and there were many vile people in the world who wished only to do vile things to others. How many of them would love to see Scarlett shackled and in pain? Tony couldn't even fathom it. In fact, he was so far in denial about the things that had been done to her that his mind had gone blank. That was quite the feat for Tony Stark considering his mind always moved a mile a minute.

"I did not ask. If I had asked they would've known we had her and would've killed us to get to her. We kept her hidden and we kept her safe. She got better over time but was barely conscious. There was an occasion on two where she tried to get free but her wounds were so bad I couldn't let her go. We had to restrain her and help her sleep, for her own good. I will never forget how hard she fought but she was weak and easy to subdue. It was heart breaking."

"I can't imagine her weak. Even sick she fights like a bull." Tony frowned and shook the thought immediately out of his head. Everyone had secrets, everyone had weaknesses but he didn't like thinking about either of them when it came to Scarlett. Was this becoming a complex already? She wouldn't like it very much. Something told Tony she would not be okay with being treated like a damsel in distress. But could he really keep back that urge to protect the one thing that was that important to him?

"The strongest man would've died from what had been done to her. Her feet were mangled. She had infections in her heart and lacerations on her back. Someone wanted her to hurt but wanted her to live. It was inhumane what was done… she-"

"Stop." Holding up his hand Tony felt clammy and cold while he considered the things that had been done to his girlfriend, if that was even the term they were using for what they shared. "I can't hear anymore. I have a very vivid imagination and apparently a much higher gag reflex than I thought." The curl in Tony's lip and blanch of his skin made the doctor smile, but not because he wanted to see Tony suffer.

"You care about her very much, I see. She deserves a better life and I hope that is what she has gotten."

"I'm doing my best." Tony cleared his throat and looked away. "So doc, you don't know much about her at all, huh?"

"No, she never gave us a name and one morning I came to change her dressings and she was gone. She had snuck out during the night, ripped her IV right out of her arm, stole some clothes and made a clean break. She must have thought she was still a prisoner and that is what I regret. We could not make her feel any more at home because we never got the chance. That's why the nurse lost color, you see. That woman made a terrible but wonderful impact on us here. We have fought to better things since she left and we have driven those men back to their warehouses and caves. We do not let them own our community any longer. Thanks to her we have managed to thrive."

"She would say you did it yourself. Not because of having met her." Tony nodded, his stomach still gurgling in protest to the idea of torture and Scarlett walking on maimed feet. How the hell did she managed to stay upright in heels after that?

"We were inspired by her. They say events change your life and you can never turn back once they happen. She was that event for me, for this hospital. Our epiphany is the word, I think."

"Well, I'll pass on the message." Before Tony could ask another question the doctor continued. Clearly it felt nice for him to finally tell this story to someone. He'd been holding it in for a long time, Tony could tell by the relief and emotion in his eyes. If it was a story he often shared, he doubted that there would be much emotion left behind it. Eventually stories became nothing more than words the more they were told. Somehow they lost meaning when you heard them for the hundredth time, or at least that was how Tony had always felt. This was a story he hoped to never hear that many times. Scarlett could tell him any other story a thousand times and he would be happy to hear it, as long as it didn't involve torture and misery.

He hoped this was the only torture story from her past.

"We mourned her. I was sure she was dead. No one could survive the wounds and sickness she had suffered without the proper care. It would have taken months for her to heal and the rehabilitation would've been horribly painful. Struggle is an understatement for what she would've gone through. We had a private memorial for her once we hadn't heard anything of her in weeks. I always hoped that she had made it but being a doctor I had to be realistic. That was until the morning I found the envelope on my desk and the thank you. It wasn't signed and there was no proof the money had come from her but I _knew_. I just knew. That woman had made it, recovered and was now donating more money than we had ever seen. And when the money came again the next month I cried. I had no idea she would do that for us."

"I'm sure she didn't expect you to save her life either." Tony averted his eyes. He didn't like the heat forming behind his vision. His heart was beating faster than it should've been and while his logical mind was telling him this had all happened long ago, he couldn't help but be moved by the story. Scarlett had been struggling with her conscience from the moment that they had met but little did she know she already had a pretty intensely strong moral compass. Why did she think she wasn't making a difference? How could she not see that what she did in this town was some form of redemption for any of the darker things she'd done over the years? She had changed the lives of the employees of that hospital for years.

She had changed the course of the future for every person in that town who was now able to thrive when they would've never gotten the chance to in the past.

Tony bet that Scarlett had donated the money and never looked back. It had to be painful for her to remember that time which was likely why she pretended it was no big deal when he tried to ask about it. But her nightmares were telling them both something completely different and while Scarlett seemed perfectly content to ignore the truth staring her in the face, Tony needed to know the reality. His imagination was far too vivid to leave any stone unturned. Most times he was grateful for the vivid imagery his mind came up with in regards to Scarlett but when it came to violence, Tony didn't want to envision anything.

Tony needed the truth to clean the slate.

"Thanks for that, doc." Tony's voice cracked as he spoke and he cleared his throat awkwardly. So much for being the definition of poise and composure in difficult situations. This was why Tony had avoided emotional situations for so long. To say he was emotionally stunted for half his life was an understatement. Now that he was finally allowing himself to feel, and really feel, he felt things so intensely it was hard to handle. He had a lot of learning to do and he hoped that Scarlett would bear with him through the process.

Where was a good bottle of scotch when he needed one?

"Happy to help. Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Stark?"

"Yeah, tell me about the men who came for her. Did you ever figure out anything else about them?"

"We were always afraid to ask, even when I saw them around town before I got her donation on my desk. As I said they are thugs and gangsters, hiding under masks of generosity. They claim to want to help their community but then bully the people living here at the same time. We drove them out shortly after things began to thrive at the hospital. One of them came looking for the money we had received since they noticed us getting shipments of medication and supplies that we had otherwise been unable to afford." The doctor was obviously proud to have driven them out but also had a bite to his voice. Animosity was too nice a way of putting it.

"Where are they now? I have a few questions for them."

"I wouldn't walk in there the way you walked in here. They will kill you without a second thought." The doctor warned. Tony wanted to immediately object and tell him just what he planned to do with his suit of armor but kept his mouth shut. "I can show you on a map where to find them but that is all. I will not put this place in jeopardy. We have worked hard to come this far."

"I would never ask you to risk anyone's life, doc. Trust me, I can handle thugs just fine on my own. In fact, I used to be one." Tony smirked, though anger was bubbling inside of him. There was a thirst for vengeance unlike anything he had ever felt boiling beneath his skin. Sure, when he'd gotten revenge on the men who had held him captive and changed his life, it had boiled over but never quite like this. Tony wanted blood.

There was a good chance he would have to find a way to calm down before he went after them. He needed those thugs alive so he could find out who hired them to hurt Scarlett. Unless she had been hired to work against them he couldn't see what their motives would be. It was more likely that she had been double crossed by someone who had targeted her to be harmed. For some reason, Tony felt like once he figured out who was behind the double cross everything would make sense.

"I do have one request of you." The doctor pulled out a pad and paper and drew up a rudimentary map for Tony of where he could find the thugs that had been driven out of town long ago.

"Anything." Tony nodded his head, stood up from his chair and stretched out the kink in his back.

"Take care of her. She needs someone. Even the blindest of men could see that." The doctor stood up and handed Tony the piece of paper. He took it and stuffed it into his jacket pocket.

"I will… but to be honest she's much better at taking care of me so far. I'm still learning." Tony stared down at the chair he'd been seated in with a glare. "Do me a favor too, will you?"

"What's that, Tony?"

"Burn that chair. And anything like it in this place. Buy new ones please. Something with you know, lumbar support. It's practically a torture device. Send me the bill, it's on me." Tony waved his hand at it. The doctor laughed and nodded his head.

"This I will do." With that, Tony shook the doctor's hand and they parted ways. Putting his phone to his ear, he knew what he had to do.

"Jarvis, get the suit ready. We have some work to do."

"Yes, sir."


	19. Hostile Negotiations

Tony meandered back to the car he'd rented when he'd arrived in Afghanistan. Traveling to the Middle East, in hostile countries like Afghanistan and Iran he preferred to get his own car or to travel via his Mark suits because he never did know who he could trust and who would leave him bleeding in a ditch with one kidney. Or maybe he was confusing the Middle East with Brazil, he wasn't sure.

It was a shame because there were so many lovely people that he'd gotten to know in those areas and their peace of mind was being ruined by thugs who hid in the mountains and waited to kidnap unsuspecting visitors and ruin their lives. You very rarely heard about the people who _saved_ lives and did great and benevolent things on the news. For instance, no one had heard about the people who had rescued Scarlett and protected her from harm when they could have just as easily abandoned her and left her to die. Instead all that was reported were acts of terror and horror.

Still, the Middle East wasn't nearly as safe as walking about in Malibu but very few places were. Tony lived a charmed life. Once back at the hotel located in an area of Afghanistan that was friendly to Americans, Tony walked past the room he'd checked into and made his way to the roof. There was no reason for him to stop back there when he had everything he needed on his person and the rest would come from the local military base he'd made arrangements with. The only reason that he'd returned to the hotel was so he could find a place to don his alter ego without being watched. It was much akin to a super hero ducking into a phone booth to take off his glasses and emerge super human. Somehow even with his status in the papers, Tony didn't view himself as a super hero. He didn't wear spandex or a cape, there was nothing mutant or genetically enhanced about him.

Maybe that was what made him such a cocky asshole about the situation when he dealt with SHIELD. How many genetically enhanced mutants did they have at their disposal? And yet Tony felt superior to most of them. How arrogant could one man be? A smirk on his face, Tony emerged on the roof in the hot summer air and triggered the switch on the Mark VII bracelets that would summon his suit to him. It would take mere seconds. He'd made sure that it would be kept safe but also near enough that if trouble snuck up on him, he would be protected within seconds.

As predicted, the folded up metal suit approached the roof as fast as a bullet. It doubled around the building and then scanned Tony's frame with the bracelets as reference to make sure it landed in all the right places before opening with a metallic hiss. Seconds later hinges turned, locks placed together and each metallic piece of the Iron Man weapon had encompassed his being. It was better than a security blanket, it was a thrill. Tony felt invincible when he had it on, he felt like a better man. Once the screen flickered to life in front of him and began to give him read outs, Tony urged it into the air. The reactor in his chest hummed pleasantly, welcoming the Iron Man suit as an old friend.

Turning to face the hotel he gave it one last look and smiled contently. When he'd checked in he'd used an assumed name. No one should have been looking for him there but he couldn't help but be paranoid given the circumstances. Scarlett had been right about a few things when she'd been trying desperately to protect him and one of those things had been that she had gotten him far more involved with MedCo than he'd realized. But what would it have mattered? Even if he hadn't met her and saved her that fateful day in the desert then he would've still pursued the company. How did she think he found her in the first place? MedCo was as much his responsibility as it was hers and he was going to make sure she knew that the next time they talked.

When he'd checked into the hotel he'd used the assumed last name of Damien. If Scarlett found out she would never let him live it down but somehow it still brought a smile to his face. Being in love was kind of ridiculous but it was a fun new kind of ridiculous that Tony was unfamiliar with. He was rather enjoying it. Somehow using her last name instead of a false one made him feel closer to her even though he'd left her behind. Maybe she would find the notion romantic. Tony sure did but then again he wasn't really an expert on romantic gestures. The most romantic thing he'd ever done in his life was save Pepper from being killed by robots that were set to self destruct and even then it wasn't exactly a Valentine's Day gift designed to sweep her off of her feet.

With Scarlett things felt different; romance came more naturally. But there would be plenty of time for romance once the two of them had managed to reach the end of the MedCo debacle. He already had several surprises planned for the two of them, but none of it would matter until Scarlett felt safe enough to move on with her life. What if she never did?

Tony ignored the nagging questions in the back of his mind and turned his attention to the matter at hand.

"Jarvis, did Scarlett ever get back to me?" Tony flew around the hotel high in the air to get his bearings. He was unfamiliar with the territory and the desert all looked the same to him. Flying enhanced the thrill he'd gotten from donning the suit. Sometimes he found it hard to believe that he'd created something so magnificent. Then he'd realized of course he did, he was mother fuckin' Tony Stark, and patted himself on the back proudly.

"I'm afraid not, sir." Jarvis spoke clearly in his ear, flashing several things on the screen along with the message he'd sent earlier to the woman in the bottom left corner. "I've taken the directions from the doctor at the hospital and programmed them into our systems. The facility alongside the mountains has been located and I'm scanning now. It appears there are at least a dozen men inside and they have easy access to weaponry. I recommend stealth and caution. Perhaps we should use the stealth mode just to be careful?"

"Yeah, a black and red suit isn't going to stick out a bit in the bright brown desert. I think I'll stick with this even if the sun is setting soon. If I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb, I'm going to look bad ass doing it."

"Is the stealth armor not _bad ass_ enough for you, sir?"

"I really don't appreciate your tone right now." Tony flew toward the coordinates on the screen in front of him and read over the text he'd sent to Scarlett apologizing for having left and telling her to stay safe. Why hadn't she responded? Was she _that_ angry with him? How many times had she left him alone and sad in a hotel and she was angry with _him_? For all Tony knew she wasn't angry or hurt in the least. There was only one way for him to find out exactly what she was feeling and that would be to talk to her. "Give her a ring, will you?" Tony muttered. He didn't want to be the clingy or overbearing lover but he was worried. After what they'd been through in the last month he had every right to be, he thought.

The phone rang inside the helmet of the Mark VII and continued to do so endlessly. It seemed she didn't have any sort of voicemail set up, or that he knew how to access, so Tony hung up and kept flying toward the building through the clear skies of the desert. It was very unlikely that he'd arrived unnoticed but he didn't much care. Short of miraculous technology Tony was sure he was the strongest thing in the desert.

"Should I try her again, sir?" Jarvis somehow managed to sound concerned and he wondered if Jarvis actually reflected his own emotions in a way. He'd never considered before that the computer system might tie in directly to his state of mind. It certainly wasn't how he'd programmed it to behave.

"Just send her a text message saying that I hope she's staying out of trouble, alright? And to call me when she gets the chance." Tony sighed and then the phone interface typed what he'd instructed and slid off to the side, only to reappear if he got a response or phone call from anyone. Soon he'd be face to face with the people who had tortured Scarlett so terribly that she'd taken months to heal and was suffering from post traumatic stress a year after all had been said and done. Clenching his fists, Tony's neck started to ache. He hadn't realized how tense his shoulders had become just thinking about what he wanted to do as revenge for the atrocities they'd committed.

"Sir, might I make a small recommendation?" Jarvis enlarged Tony's heart rate that had jumped as he obviously dwelled on what was about to be done. With too little sleep, too much coffee and a giant ball of stress building in his mind, Tony was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. He hadn't felt that much rage in a very long time, not since he'd been emotionally compromised after what had happened to _him_ in Afghanistan. His chest hurt, the reactor burned and he ignored Jarvis' warning since he was well aware of what he was getting at. "I'm going to say it whether or not you agree."

"Then why ask me, Jarvis?" Tony exhaled deeply in an attempt to sooth the ache in his back.

"Courtesy." Before Tony could object to the response, Jarvis continued on thoughtfully. "I recommend that you put your emotions aside this time and not let them get the best of you. You might do something you will later regret."

"_Put my emotions aside_, when the hell did you become my shrink?" Tony snapped, but then cooled down as he slowed his flight through the desert. Jarvis wasn't wrong, but he didn't want him to be right either. This wasn't like fighting for nameless souls of the innocent. It wasn't like fighting even for himself or for Pepper. It was fighting for _Scarlett_. And it was a fight she had tried to keep him out of to keep him safe. How did anyone expect him to keep his emotions out of it? "You heard what was done to her, Jarvis. I had you record the whole damn thing. Her feet were mangled and that wasn't the worst of it. That doctor… he had memories of things I can only imagine and you expect me to keep my cool?"

"I did hear every word, sir and I saw her suffering just as you did."

"What would you do, huh? If it was you and our roles were reversed?" Tony knew that arguing with a computer system _he_ created was almost pointless, but he couldn't help himself. Jarvis didn't respond and silenced overhead. The heart monitor in the corner slowed and Tony managed to finally unclench. Stressing over it would do him no good. He'd end up drinking the night away after he was done and unfortunately that seemed to be a returning bad habit he couldn't quite kick.

"I would blast them all to hell." Jarvis finally replied, sounding more somber than he usually did. Tony smirked and shook his head. Somehow knowing that even his computer, that was still apparently filled with amorous thoughts of Scarlett, would lose rationality in the current situation calmed him. Before Tony could make a snarky remark about Jarvis needing to see a computer shrink, a whistling sound behind him drew his attention. Just as he turned to see what was pursuing him a metallic rocket crashed into his suit, exploded and sent the Mark VII soaring downward where it slammed hard into the sand below.

The consequent blow formed a crater in the sand the size of a small house. Then the sand slid down into the crater half burying the suit before Tony could gather his bearings. Back on his feet and unburied in an instant, Tony accelerated the thrusters and flew back into the sky, doing a flip as he corrected the suit. In the sand below he left a spray of glass since the boosters had been so hot they'd melted the sand when he'd taken off again.

"What the hell was that?"

"It appears to have been a rocket."

"Why didn't I see it on radar is what I meant Jarvis?" Jarvis didn't immediately respond to Tony who kept his eyes peeled on the scenery in front of him. Hearing the second telltale whistle he'd learned to recognize over time, Tony turned off the boosters and let the suit fall a few feet before turning them back on and watched as another rocket flew overhead. "Talk to me!"

"Oops."

"_Oops?_ What the hell does oops mean? I'm not Jeff Goldblum, _tell_ me what happened!"

"Oops means that the radar appears to be malfunctioning."

"Well, fix it." Tony gritted his teeth as the facility below came into view. The old warehouse looked like it had some work recently done but was still in an overall state of disrepair. There were tents strewn along the outer walls and leading to the mountains close behind where Tony was sure there had to be people and weapons hiding beneath. Somewhere inside of that building or inside of the mountain Scarlett had been held and tortured.

Why was he wasting his time? He should blow the place to the kingdom come instead of showing the mercy. They hadn't shown Scarlett any mercy as far as he knew. People like that, who would torture another human being, were scum and deserved what they got in return.

But then again if he leveled the place he wouldn't get any of the answers he so sorely sought. If he was ever going to help Scarlett break free of the mental hold her past had on her, he had to know what happened and why. Who had hired those men to hurt her and why had they done it? Why hadn't they continued pursuit of her after she'd escaped and started working again? Tony needed to know.

"Jarvis, non-lethal mode." The computer didn't respond but instead showed the radar on the screen as proof that it had been repaired. Dodging a blow from behind, Tony urged the Mark VII high into the air, flipped it upside down and shot through the sky like a rocket toward the facility. The dozen or so men that had been located by Jarvis at first glance were standing around behind shields and hiding inside doorways with weapons aimed at the Mark. He could feel the blows of several gunshots hitting the metal and deflecting off of him, either denting his armor or shattering the bullets themselves into pieces.

"Are you sure?"

"I need to speak with them. They'll be less compelled to talk if they're dead." Tony grimaced. At once things on his screen turned from red to blue. While he was still under attack, he knew that he could handle it rather easily. Radar still showed him oncoming attacks and pinpointed where the blows were coming from but now Tony wouldn't be able to fire missiles or bullets in the heat of the moment. As much as he wanted blood for what had been done to Scarlett, he wanted to get to the bottom of it even more. If anyone had the right to get revenge it was Scarlett. Tony had no place to do so.

"No responses yet." Jarvis spoke about communication with the woman before Tony had the chance to bring it up.

"Starting to worry." Tony growled between his clenched jaw and aimed his repulsors at the building in front of him while he artfully guided the Mark VII to avoid blow after blow from standard caliber weapons being fired at him. People were screaming down below, orders to take in regards to how to approach Tony. He could hear Jarvis translating in the background but heard nothing of note yet other than that Iron Man was there and assaulting them.

"I used the global positioning system located in her phone sir and have tracked her to South Africa."

"Why would she be back there?" Tony cocked a curious eyebrow, firing his repulsors at one of the windows and breaking the frame so that the man who was reloading his weapon behind it would be knocked back by the force and unable to continue using that vantage point against him.

"I don't know but it appears she's somewhere near the coast and hasn't moved in hours." Jarvis had apparently been watching Scarlett's coordinates for much longer than he had only seconds ago admitted. "I'm becoming concerned."

"We'll worry about it after someone isn't, you know, pointing guns at us." Tony furrowed his brow and just barely managed to grab onto a rocket being shot at him, using the force of it to move above it. Still holding the rocket, Tony turned it around and propelled it toward the mountains, far away from where he was sure there were people hiding inside of it. It exploded in the distance with a loud horrible bang. "Time to take out these rockets."

Tony flew at break neck speed toward the ground and the mortars that were attached to the concrete foundation of the warehouse and aimed at him.

"Charge lasers." Whispering orders beneath his breath, Tony crashed onto the ground in front of the mortars, grabbed onto one and let the lasers in his hands actually melt the metal into a steaming heap of useless junk. Turning quickly on his heels he aimed the same laser at the mortar across the way and watched it burst into flames.

Just as he was about to take the third and final mortar out he felt the reverberation of bullets being unloaded into the back of his suit. A man, looking panicked was reloading his weapon and firing clip after clip of ammunition at the Mark VII in hopes of disabling the Iron Man weapon.

"Damnit, that's really annoying!" Tony stumbled backwards as the impact of the ammunition shook the suit and made his ears ring. Finally Tony grabbed the gun right out of the thug's hand. He then fell back in fear before removing another gun from a holster on his side. Crushing the first gun in his hand like a fly, Tony grabbed the second and then took a play out of Scarlett's book and swung it at the man's head where he then fell unconscious. The fear in his eyes had been something different than Tony had expected. He wasn't used to seeing that sort of fear in a man's eyes when he was on a mission. All he'd wanted was to save his own life, not to cause Tony harm and so Tony flew off, leaving him there to rest and stay out of harm's way for the remainder of the battle.

Squealing tires and the revving of an engine behind him made Tony alert. Circling the building and approaching it again he saw that two jeeps had been driven away from the mountainside and were in hot pursuit of him. Heavier ammunition from high powered rifles threw Tony off course and he had to spin around to regain his equilibrium. Tony channeled his power into his thrusters and flew toward the first jeep that panicked once they realized Tony wasn't stopping and put the car into reverse. There were three men on board, two armed and the other driving. Each looked fearful and so Tony grabbed onto the front of the jeep and pulled to combat the backward force. The tires spun uselessly in the sand until finally the transmission stalled and the engine died.

Tony then aimed his lasers at the tires, propped the car up and struggled to lift it off the ground. He then dragged it through the air and on top of the warehouse where he dropped it on the roof. After that he pulled each of the three men out of the jeep, grabbed the guns they'd abandoned as they ran from him and destroyed each of them so they wouldn't be able to do him any harm when he left them on the roof.

About to fly away from the building, Tony was sent soaring over it by another rocket having not noticed it on the radar until it was too late. Everything went dark inside of the helmet temporarily before booting back up seconds later. The enhancements he'd made had forced the suit to reboot quicker than Tony could have imagined. In the back of the second jeep had been a rocket launcher that was being reloaded for a second blow. The men inside looked less afraid than the ones he'd previously dealt with, in fact they seemed angry.

Tony felt the rage swell inside of him again. He'd managed to remain distracted during the bulk of the fight thus far but was reminded of how ruthless these people who were seemingly fearful as a group had to have been in order to harm Scarlett the way that they had. Yelling as he caught another rocket and crushed it in his hand before throwing it into the sand, Tony rushed the vehicle and blew the tires the way he had on the one he'd placed on the roof safe out of harm's way. The jeep skid uncontrollably across the sand as the driver attempted to continue without wheels.

Rushing over the jeep, Tony grabbed onto the rocket launcher and ripped it apart piece by piece before throwing what remained of it back at the man who had been shooting it, sending him flying out of the vehicle and rolling in the dirt. The jeep lost control without its tires and started to barrel roll down a hill in the sand. Reminding himself that he wasn't going to kill anyone, and just barely at that, Tony hurried around to the other side of the jeep and grabbed the roof of it before flipping it back over upright. He then fired a blast of his repulsor at the engine and watched as it caught aflame. The men in the jeep were glaring at him accusingly, each holding a gun aimed at the armor but hesitant to shoot upon realizing that every other blow had been nearly useless against the impervious armor.

In each of their eyes Tony could see malice. These were the type of men who would do anything for money and power. The doctor had been right; they were nothing more than nasty thugs, clearing their conscience of guilt by giving back to their community and threatening it in the same breath.

It took every bit of Tony's restraint not to grab each one of them and show them what real pain felt like. He wanted them to hurt the way that Scarlett had hurt. He wanted to make them suffer nightmares, the same nightmares that were so vivid and terrible that Scarlett woke up vomiting and unable to recognize where she was.

But Tony knew he couldn't do that.

Right now he had to help Scarlett heal and killing these men wouldn't do that. When all had been said and done, Tony would hand them over to S.H.I.E.L.D. and let them deal with the legal repercussions of what had been done.

A familiar electronic whirring brought Tony back to reality. Turning just in time, Tony saw the gun that he'd first encountered a few weeks prior after having taken Scarlett to dinner for the first time. It was a gun that emitted an electromagnetic pulse that would disable almost every electronic within a certain radius. Tony had rebuilt his suits to combat it and while it still slowed him down it thankfully no longer killed any of his Marks.

Flying quickly up into the air as high as he could go, he heard the familiar reverberation of the gun as it shot off. Tony barely got out of the way in time.

That gun had been created by MedCo. It had been created specifically to fight _him._ No one else had technology like Tony Stark and while there may have been other uses for it, that weapon stank of MedCo. What the hell did MedCo have to do with these men? The implications were so astounding.

Tony was disheartened that the hunch he'd had while listening to Scarlett's utterances during her nightmares had been correct. What had MedCo done? What was their involvement in what had happened to her? What did they stand to gain by causing Scarlett that much pain? Had they experimented on her while she'd been imprisoned or had they just been trying to break her so she'd do their bidding? The nightmares that plagued Scarlett would likely haunt her for the rest of her days and it turned out that MedCo was somehow behind it? Tony didn't have the proof he needed, for all he knew the gun could've been purchased from MedCo. After all that was what the corporation did; they were munitions dealers.

But Tony couldn't fight the rage, not that time. MedCo had sullied his reputation and manipulated the last year of Scarlett's life. Practically growling and seeing red, Tony dodged blow after electronic blow that the man holding the large and impractical gun aimed at him thanks to Jarvis guiding him to spin around and artfully duck beneath blows. It seemed unable to shoot off the same powerful electromagnetic pulse as it had first done and was instead firing smaller concentrated blows that he was easily able to dodge.

"Jarvis, full power! Full power, I don't care anymore!" Tony flew around the man holding the gun.

"No." Jarvis outright refused to do Tony's bidding. "You are emotionally compromised. You need them for answers you said so yourself."

"There are no answers that are worth what they did! You see exactly what I see now tell me I'm acting rash!" Tony yelled before jumping on top of the man who was firing at him, being met with a horrified scream. Tony grabbed the weapon, crushed the trigger and threw it behind him like a piece of garbage. Legs on either side of the man in the sand, he grabbed his throat and then lifted him high up in the air. "Take the damn safety off!"

"Sir, I do not recommend you apply any more…"

"They deserve this, Jarvis! They deserve it for what they've done! If not to Scarlett then to the people of this place! How many people have they tortured just for money? How do you think they got these guns in the first place? Hurting people, ruining their lives! Do you think I'm going to sit here and make sure they don't get a little banged up because I need answers? They didn't think of how _anyone_ felt when they hurt them did they? Why should I give a damn about their well being?"

"Sir, please."

"Don't _please_ me! Do you have any idea what they did to her?" Tony was yelling with wide eyes and squeezed harder at the neck of the man in his arms who was clawing desperately at the metallic shell of the Mark VII to no avail.

"No I don't! And neither do you!" Jarvis argued loudly making Tony finally stop yelling though he was still red in the face. "Scarlett wouldn't want you to kill these men. She wouldn't want blood on your hands. Look at them, sir. They are meek and desperate. You were like that once." Tony stared at the man in his grip and loosened it so he wouldn't be choking. There was fear and panic in his eyes, just like he had seen amongst every thug that had attacked him.

How terrified must they have been to see Iron Man coming at them full force? Of course they panicked and went into offensive mode. That was all they knew how to do. If anyone understood being defensive and impulsive it was Tony.

Finally setting the man down and taking a deep breath. He'd realized he'd been holding it only once his ears had started to ring. Tony took a step back. Jarvis had been right, but Tony's head was still spinning. Could he really let these men go unharmed? Back into the air, Tony targeted the men who were still firing at him and took their guns one by one. He dismantled them and threw them back to the ground before flying into the air to survey his surroundings and make sure that he hadn't missed anything.

There was fevered yelling down below and slowly the men started to gather out front near the warehouse. Some were scraped up but none were seriously injured. Turning to hover in front of them, he held the repulsors in his palms aimed at them but didn't fire, curious to see what they were planning to do. Six of the twelve men were still holding guns, but after staring at the fearful weapon in front of them they nodded their heads in response to the man who was apparently their leader and placed their guns down in front of them.

Each kicked their gun away. The leader held his hands up at either side of him and watched Iron Man's reaction obviously hoping his men would follow suit and the fighting would at last be at an end. It took only moments for his men to follow suit, raising their hands defensively. If they had a white flag of surrender, Tony was sure that they would be waving it adamantly in front of him. He was still calming down and could feel the tension inside the pit of his stomach. At this rate he was going to be riddled with ulcers and cysts simply from stress in less than a week.

Lowering his arms slowly but still on the defensive, Tony sat and waited for them to make another move before doing anything. If they wanted to surrender they would have to make a good faith gesture toward Tony proving that they meant him no harm. Why weren't these people the monsters he had envisioned in his mind? It was true that most monsters were just men with motives but Tony was still surprised by the fear they'd exhibited. Scarlett was the strongest and most formidable woman he knew, besides the Black Widow, and they had rendered her useless and left her for dead.

So why now were they surrendering in front of Iron Man and barely putting up a fight? Were they cowards? He couldn't blame them for not wanting to make enemies with him. Before he could question their motives further the man who was their leader took a few steps forward, his hands still in the air with a stern but pleading expression on his face. Behind him stood, knees quavering, the man that Tony had nearly choked to death.

"Why are you here?" The man finally yelled through the wind in a thick accent. Tony stared down at them, not willing to yet give them the answer. They had to have known that they would pay for their actions someday. No wicked act went unpunished. "We have no quarrel with the United States of America or with Stark Industries." He continued on and then bowed his head respectfully and dropped his hands to his sides. "Or the brilliant Tony Stark. We know better than to make such formidable enemies." Tony flipped the helmet of his suit open once he was sure that he wouldn't be attacked and studied the group with a stern gaze. His heart was still racing. These men had hurt Scarlett and terribly at that. If they didn't want to mess with him they shouldn't have hurt her. Not that they could've ever come to that conclusion on their own.

But they were sincere now. They had no quarrels with him and they didn't want any. It was obvious that they knew they were outnumbered by his machinery.

"There is no hint of deceit in his voice. I believe he is being truthful." Jarvis quietly spoke through the remainder of the helmet. Nodding his head curtly Tony slowly descended from the sky and got closer to the group of thugs who all leaned back and away, as though at any second he would attack and murder them. Did they have families? Lives away from the gangs and torture? Tony felt a confusing mixture of guilt and rage. Were they trying to fool him?

"I need to speak with you." Tony finally decided that he would give them the chance to end this peacefully. As much as he wanted vengeance for what was done to Scarlett, he wanted to save her from their current predicament first.

"Then why would you attack us?" The man who he had strangled croaked out. Apparently Tony's hands had done some real damage. The guilt didn't subside but it didn't get worse either.

"Attack _you?_ You shot a rocket at me when I was flying overhead! There's a Tony Stark shaped crater in the ground a mile out." Tony waved toward the direction he'd flown in from. The leader of the group turned and gave judgmental looks to each of his men who turned their heads away to escape it. Despite his insistence that they hadn't done anything to warrant an assault from Iron Man the men didn't deny that they had started the attack.

"What is it you need from us? We don't know you so I am unsure what you require." The man shook his head in confusion.

"There was a woman." Tony got closer and landed the suit in front of them several feet away, still out of arm's reach and made sure that Jarvis consistently scanned the perimeter just in case it was all some clever ruse to lure him into a false sense of security. "About a year ago she was held here. You did…"

"I know who you speak about." The man's face paled and he hung his head in shame. Scarlett was a sensitive subject there apparently. Had it all been some misunderstanding? Then how would they have gotten their hands on MedCo weaponry? Even if it had been a misunderstanding these men were up to no good. There weren't companies with pure motives working with MedCo, there just weren't. The men behind him began to whisper and exchange wary glances, none wanting to acknowledge the lingering questions in the air. "What do you want to know?"

"I need to know what happened." Tony began but was interrupted by Jarvis who was letting Tony know that the men from the roof had finally made their way down and were on their way to the scene, but were still unarmed and made no attempts to get more weapons.

"We will speak with you and answer questions. But I must implore that you are unarmed as I will also be. I do not want any of my men to suffer."

"I'm not going anywhere without my suit. Given this sticky situation, you can't blame me for wanting to be on the safe side. But I promise I won't hurt anyone. Notice how no one's dead?" Tony directed power away from the repulsors of his suit and the thrusters. He didn't need any more violence. He was going to get what he came for.

"I understand. I will take your word for it. From what I understand you have become a good man. Where we once would've ambushed you and wished you dead for bringing violence to the world we now welcome you for the changes you've made." Tony was surprised by their kind words. What happened to the part where they were supposed to be nasty thugs?

"Okay, I _think_. Where should we do this?"

"Please come inside and I will answer any questions you have once I am sure that my men are alright." Turning away from Tony the leader of the group began firing off orders to the men behind him to presumably take care of the colossal mess that had been made. Tony flipped the helmet of his suit back down and looked at the screen.

"Jarvis, I need you to keep your eye out on the perimeter and let me know if you see any suspicious behavior while I'm there."

"Already on it, sir."

"And keep trying to get in touch with Scarlett. I have this… nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach and I can't tell if I need Pepto or if it's intuition."

"Perhaps a bit of both, sir?" Jarvis spoke confidently but in the corner of his vision Tony could see him sending messages to Scarlett's phone and continuing to update her GPS location every few moments to make sure she hadn't moved. Had she ditched her phone?

"And Jarvis?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Thanks for helping me keep my cool, you know when… I went all psychopath murderous crazy revenge boyfriend." Tony smiled weakly.

"You're welcome." Jarvis responded.

Tony removed the helmet of his Mark VII Iron Man suit, allowing it to retract back into the remaining armor then marched toward the warehouse where he would be led to have a sit down with the leader of the gang of thieves.

Finally, Tony would get to the bottom of things.


	20. Unexpected Sources

_[[Short chapter, but I wanted to say thank you for recent comments. It means so much to me that someone else is enjoying this with me! Things have been particularly tough here lately, and I'm just so glad I have this story to share with the internets.]]_

There were birds chirping. _Annoying_ birds chirping.

Her head spun in agony and her body ached with soreness deep in her muscles. Had she been in some kind of car accident? Scarlett's thoughts were muddled by sleep to properly recall what had put her in such a foul state. The throbbing in her head considerably but she was too fatigued to make sense of _why_ it was in such pain. Wherever she was lying was comfortable enough that she considered not moving. If it weren't for those damned birds she would remain sleeping. Or at least she _would've_ until she her memory properly returned to her and she became increasingly aware of the danger she could potentially be in.

Like a dam had burst, Scarlett was crushed by the waves of reality as water rolled over her feet. She'd washed up on the shore after falling overboard. Chills ran down Scarlett's spine and her stomach momentarily lurched. Her fever had returned overnight; she could feel it, strangely enough, behind her eyes that were now burning. Where she'd smacked her head against the railing of the boat when Frankenstein's monster had disrupted her fall she could feel the wound throbbing. Sitting up instantly, awake and alert, Scarlett reached for the handgun in her holster beneath her arm and checked the area around her. She'd half expected to wake up in a laboratory with MedCo doctors surrounding her or in a prison cell with similar attendants but was instead surprised to find she was alone on a sandy beach. The amount of chaos Scarlett has caused must have been sufficient enough to keep those bastards at MedCo from searching for her. Either that or she'd washed up so far away from the sight that the area hadn't been searched yet.

Getting hurriedly onto her knees while checking her gun to make sure it was loaded, Scarlett turned around and searched for any signs of foul play but found none. About a hundred feet away the sandy shore became treacherous rocks. She'd washed up onto the beach in a pretty lucky spot considering she could've very well been crushed or drowned by nature. Shivering from the fever that had returned but still remaining on her guard, Scarlett limped through the sand to get further away from the shore. Wiping her hand over her face to free her skin of the tiny bits of earth on her skin she could feel every bit of her body trembling with anxiety.

What the _hell_ happened on that boat? Had she really seen some undead creature? Was MedCo about to start the Zombie Apocalypse? Scarlett was pretty sure she wasn't prepared to be party to that. Though if anyone could survive that it'd be her and Tony. Maybe Erick hadn't been dead when she'd left him in the basement of that building. It was the only thing that had made sense. But she'd shot him in the _head_. That wasn't easily survived.

Why hadn't he followed her into the water? Formidable was an understatement for what she'd been up against. Had she finally managed to kill him on the boat during her last stand? She'd only cut off his arm and fired more than a dozen shots into him then set him on fire, so she could hope that was the true. Her gut told her differently. If she'd learned anything from playing too much Xbox during her recovery it was that those things should've worked. And yet he'd chased her and had nearly gotten the best of her. If it hadn't been for her quick thinking then she would've become every one of those things Erick had threatened. His hubris had gotten in the way of his ultimate goal. Erick's lust for wanting to torture Scarlett rather than kill her had given her the chance to escape.

Once sure that no one was coming at her with guns blazing from behind the rocks, Scarlett ditched her gun in the ocean along with her holster and patted down her pockets to make sure she hadn't lost her evidence in the water. Without her jacket, the gun was in plain sight and it wasn't registered _anywhere_ so it was just easier to ditch it than it was to keep it_. _Plus people tended to trust someone carrying a gun less than someone without. Right now Scarlett wanted to seem trustworthy.

The sun was shining brightly overhead and the pounding in her head became considerably worse. It was very likely she had a concussion but Scarlett thankfully knew how to care for that. Between working such a dangerous job for years and having spent time engineering medical equipment she'd learned a few tricks of the trade. Scarlett was nothing if not resourceful. Years of tending to her own wounds had finally come in handy.

She'd lost the remaining clips of ammunitions she'd taken in the water but the bag with her phone in it was still intact and hadn't leaked. Pulling the phone free and discarding the bag in the nearest trash can as she slowly made her way onto solid ground, Scarlett felt flooded with relief. The evidence she'd gathered would be more than enough to hand over to S.H.I.E.L.D. to launch a full scale investigation on MedCo's darker dealings. She would have to talk to her contact and get copies of the shipping manifests to turn it over with, but even alone it was pretty compelling evidence against them. It didn't matter what country she was in, experiments of that nature were _never_ considered legal.

Managing to finally get the stiffness out of her legs, Scarlett stopped limping and walked casually away from the shore. She had no idea where she was and as she pushed buttons on her phone to bring it to life she recalled how it had drained unnaturally in the ship. The Ghost Hunters would have gotten one hell of a kick out of what she'd been through. There was little Scarlett could do out on the beach in bloodied and soaking wet clothing and half covered in sand so she did the only thing she could think to do.

Scarlett found a shitty looking diner near the shore and stepped inside. Sure, it wasn't the brightest idea in broad daylight in her condition but most people didn't ask a person like her questions. And Scarlett was damn hungry. Ordering the largest coffee they would bring her and an omelet, Scarlett considered what she'd discovered with one hand on her head as she munched on her food. It could've been dehydration and hunger talking, but she was sure that was the best damn breakfast she'd ever eaten in her life.

Tony would have very much enjoyed it. Maybe someday she'd bring him there.

Spinning her phone on the table after getting a refill on her coffee Scarlett pushed her sandy hair out of her face and pursed her lips. Her contact had warned her against going to the ship but something felt _off_ about that. It had felt off in the first place but it still nagged at her. There had never been an occasion where he'd warned her _against_ taking a job. When had he become so emotionally attached to her? She couldn't remember why or when it had started but it didn't seem right. It was his _job_ to deal with people like her and not become attached.

Maybe it'd been nothing more than a clever ruse. Scarlett hated thinking that the one man she'd trusted for years could've been playing her but she it was inevitable. There had been too many _conveniences_ in the past week for her to ignore them. He'd found information on MedCo that even Tony hadn't been able to find and she was sure that there wasn't a person on the planet who rivaled Tony Stark's computer skills. As arrogant as he was about how fantastic he was at _everything_ apparently, Scarlett had seen firsthand just how capable he was with technology. So how had this man, working for an underfunded underground base in India, managed to find original shipping manifests from a company as careful and dastardly as MedCo? How had he managed to find those three cities that he'd given her coordinates for earlier in the week without raising alarms?

Sure, the manifest could've been made easy to find in order to lure Scarlett in but she never would've _found_ it without her contact calling her. It saddened her to think that he was setting her up for a fall, but she had this feeling that something was off with his intelligence that she couldn't shake. And as stupid as it seemed to some people, Scarlett was learning never to ignore her gut instincts. She'd felt that MedCo wasn't worthy of trust from the very beginning and while she'd been so incredibly wrong about Stark Industries and its CEO even that had come with feelings she'd ignored.

She'd chalked off her doubts about Tony Stark to post traumatic stress and hormones. It still hurt her brain to think how only a month ago she'd wanted to make him beg for mercy. If she had just listened to her gut about Tony in the first place then she would've saved them both a considerable amount of suffering. Shoving a cracker in her mouth, Scarlett was sure she could've eaten three more delicious omelets but resisted the urge.

It was time to track down the man who should've been impossible to find. When Scarlett put her mind to it she could do some major harm with a keyboard. Right now all she would need is proof to settle her uneasy mind.

And a shower. Possibly the longest, hottest shower she'd ever taken. There was sand in places that Scarlett didn't know sand could make its way to and only scalding hot water would do.

After paying for her meal and leaving a generous tip, Scarlett bought a coffee for the road and then started the trek back to her hotel. She'd asked for directions from the waitress who had suddenly become friendly upon seeing just what kind of tip she was receiving for being discreet. The docks that Scarlett had torched the night before were a mile to the east and she could easily make that journey in a short amount of time. It took about an hour but she managed to make her way to the hotel. Fever or not, Scarlett was feeling particularly determined.

She could've sworn she coughed up a lung on the way there. Was it ocean water in her chest causing her to cough or maybe whatever had made her sick beforehand? Surely laying on the shore freezing cold for hours after a blow to the head would set her recovery back a few days at least. Still, Scarlett felt better than she'd felt in Milan so she couldn't complain. Plugging her dead phone into charge so that she could use it later to trace the numbers that had contacted her in the past week, Scarlett abandoned it on the nightstand of the hotel and then took the shower she so sorely desired.

The more she thought about it the more it made sense that her contact had been tainted by someone, even if it wasn't MedCo. Everything from the incident at the docks the night before to the job that had gone badly in Afghanistan could be explained away by him setting her up. But then why would he have helped her so much in between? He'd paid for her hospital bills after she'd made her way out of the country at that horrible time of her life. Why would he do that? To retain her trust? It was sick, but people did sickening things. It was the sad truth of humanity that people were capable of despicable acts and sometimes for no other reason than some sick and twisted pleasure.

As much as Scarlett didn't want it to be true of the man she'd trusted her career in the hands of for the longer than she could remember, she couldn't discount it without investigation either. The only person she trusted completely now was Tony and while that was cynical of her considering the situation, Scarlett felt she was being on the safe side. And the only reason she trusted Tony as much as she did was because he had _earned_ that trust. She knew what he was capable of, what an asshole he was and how volatile he could be but he never pretended to be anything but that. Even when they'd been testing each other out, he'd made constant sexual advances, bragged about his prowess every chance he got, and never lied.

Tony had worked hard to earn her trust and even then Scarlett had rejected the notion until she'd found proof of his honesty on her own. Scarlett knew that Tony was trustworthy because despite everything that she'd done to him and how terribly she'd deceived him he still trusted her and loved her. At least she thought he trusted her. As she toweled off she considered that he might _not_ trust her entirely and she couldn't blame him for that either. If he had done to her what she had done to him than she wouldn't have trusted him either.

But that was the least of Scarlett's worries. If there was one person Scarlett didn't have to worry about betraying her it was Tony Stark. This only reaffirmed that she would have to do a thorough check on the Indian man she'd been speaking to for years. If he was working with MedCo and had _anything_ to do with putting the gears in motion for their plan in the last year she would find him and put a bullet in his head.

She'd put _two_ bullets in his head because if anyone she killed came back as a zombie monster like Erick had ever again, then Scarlett would be _so_ mad.

Wrapping the towel around her body, Scarlett sat on the edge of the hotel bed and stared into the mirrored closet door at her reflection. She'd lost weight again, and not in a good way. Her muscle mass had continued to diminish over time. It wasn't like she had much time to get to the gym since she'd escaped from MedCo. The deplorable conditions she'd been held in there had done a number on her physical stature but as soon as she could, Scarlett would get back into working order.

Being sick had killed her appetite. When was the last time she'd really eaten more than scraps and nibbles here or there just so that she could take some sort of drug? She couldn't recall. Maybe that was why the omelet had tasted so wonderful. In the same mirror she'd studied her reflection, Scarlett attended to the wound on her head that had rendered her unconscious and had almost been the cause of her death the night before. It wasn't as bad as she expected it to be. She probably should have gotten stitches but the wound had now closed on its own and had even survived her showering. To her relief, she had not suffered the concussion she had suspected.

After tending to her wound, getting dressed, and collecting her things, Scarlett unplugged her now charged phone and saw the messages and missed calls waiting for her. Tony was either regretting his decision to leave her in Milan, was bored out of his mind, or worried about her. Scarlett left the hotel, phone in hand, and traveled to the nearest café where she then borrowed a computer from someone sitting nearby. It wasn't hard to get a favor, considering her looks. The head wound certainly didn't help her case but most of it was now hidden by her rebellious, and now sand free, hair. Thankfully she was still pretty enough to garner favors when she wanted to and having a bit of charm and sass helped her case too.

After promising the man she'd borrowed the computer from she wouldn't be long, he left her alone while he ran some errands. Scarlett was lucky she looked trustworthy at first glance even if she'd never understood why. She wouldn't trust herself in a dark alley that was for sure. But once she was sure she wasn't being watched, Scarlett plugged her phone into the computer. It wouldn't take her long to trace the true source of the numbers that had been calling her and the ones she'd used to contact the Indian man.

But it was far more complicated than she had expected it to be. People in her line of business always took extra precautions but it was particularly difficult for Scarlett to narrow down the man's location. She knew that anyone looking for her would go through the same difficulties, except for apparently Tony, who managed to find her no matter where she tried to disappear to even before he had bugged her phone. Each phone number she traced led her to a dead end and this frustrated Scarlett beyond words.

Worse than that, her inability to trace the source only confirmed that she'd been had and probably for a long time at that. This man she thought that was worthy of her trust was nothing more than a manipulative asshole working at the hands of MedCo. How long had he been a puppet for them? How much information had he fed them about her? Was that why they had sought her out and asked her so many times to take a job with them before Scott had finally convinced her to take it? They knew her history and how valuable an asset she could be to them. Short of kidnapping Tony Stark, Scarlett was the next best bet in engineering and technology. Only the world would notice when Tony went missing. The only person who would notice _she_ went missing now would be Tony.

Popping an aspirin in her mouth and chasing it with yet another coffee, Scarlett rubbed her temples in frustration. Her head was pounding and every lead she followed led her nowhere. The calls had been sent through various towers in strange places around the world which meant that the man calling her had been routing his calls through servers which was very peculiar for anyone who wasn't up to something nasty. Scarlett knew that what he did wasn't exactly legal but it wasn't akin to what Scarlett did either.

She had enemies. When jobs went wrong people blamed _her_, not the man who had tipped her off to the job.

It was _her_ life that had always been in danger, so why was he taking such desperate measures to go into hiding? Still the nagging voice in Scarlett's head reminded her of how he had looked out for her and taken care of her over time. But what if the people Scarlett had trusted to keep her safe weren't at all who she had thought they were? Scott was obviously not the weak man she'd thought he was or the loving and supportive boyfriend she had claimed him to be for so long. So why was she still hesitating to think that a man she had never met face to face could betray her? It would've been easy.

She wondered what the price was for her life.

How much was she worth to him? How much had she been worth to MedCo? Scarlett caught herself as she squeezed her cardboard cup of coffee just before she would've crushed it. She didn't much feel like taking another shower due to coffee related accidents.

The amount Scarlett wanted a vacation was astounding.

Considering she had _never_ before taken a vacation, that was saying something. Scarlett brought up the text message on her computer that had contained the coordinates to the three towns in various countries that she'd been provided with the week prior. Why had she avoided the town outside of Istanbul? Was it her instincts or had she really just been avoiding old work colleagues as she had convinced herself? She'd considered doing a drive by after checking on the ship in South Africa but now that she suspected the man who had provided her with such information was no longer on the level she didn't think it was worth it. Going to Istanbul could leave her dead or worse. Scarlett really didn't like to think about the "or worse" part.

The texts yielded more information than the phone calls had. They traced back to a computer system and while it took some digging Scarlett managed to retain the original IP address. At first it hadn't meant much of anything other than the Indian man did in fact live in India as he had previously mentioned when trying to offer her a way out, but the more Scarlett dug the more she found.

The routing system he'd used for his phone calls and IP address was privatized. The only companies that used privatized systems that advanced were definitely _not_ terrorist organizations. Now Scarlett was confused. If he wasn't a terrorist then what the hell was he? This clever and dastardly man not only had he been deceiving her, but the lengths he'd gone through to hide it were astounding.

Scarlett decided it was now or never and hacked into the servers that were being used to reroute the phone calls she made to the Indian man. She disguised her attempts so that they would look like a call from a computer rather than an invasive search from a foreign country. Depending on how sophisticated the system was, Scarlett would have a limited amount of time to find the owner of the server.

Scarlett's phone buzzed and made her jump a mile in her seat. Several people turned to look at her. Pushing aside her cup of coffee she decided that maybe the fourth cup had been too much for the day and instead acknowledged her phone. It was yet another message from Tony. She hadn't bothered yet to read any of them because she knew that once she did she would get caught up talking to Tony and then distracted by him. There would be plenty of time for that once she'd finished digging up information on the man who had betrayed her.

_If_ he had betrayed her. Scarlett didn't know who to trust or what to think anymore. Mysteries wrapped in riddles and bathed in enigmas were too much for someone with as big a bump on their head as Scarlett had.

Checking the messages at long last so the buzzing would stop, Scarlett actually smiled when she saw them. Tony was _worried_ about her. He'd even outright _said_ he was worried about her. She'd never had anyone worry about her like that before and it was a strange feeling. Even her parents had never worried about her well being. They'd only worried about her tarnishing their reputation. And Scott had never been so much worried as he had been annoyed that he had to deal with her shenanigans. It might have been worry during the first few weeks of their relationship but once the novelty of being with her had worn off, so had the worry.

Quickly she sent a message back to Tony letting him know that she was okay but her phone battery had died while she was doing something important and she hadn't gotten a chance to charge it. She then quickly added in a snide remark about him acting like a needy girlfriend. Part of her knew she should tell him the real reason she hadn't charged her phone but she didn't need him to worry anymore than he already was. To be honest, she was worried about _him_ too but it was pretty likely she wasn't going to admit that.

Scarlett ignored the remaining messages again and instead continued to search for the source of the private system she'd discovered. When she found it after a few more minutes of digging, she actually leaned back in her chair and placed her hands behind her head, fingers entangled together.

It definitely wasn't what she had been expecting to find.

"Well then." Scarlett cleared her throat and looked about the café. Just as she was about to sign out of the system, it _locked_ her out and threw up warnings about the system being hacked and compromised. Calmly, Scarlett closed the system down on the computer, forced it to shut down, wiped her fingerprints off of the keys and removed her phone and any trace of it on the computer. After that she pocketed her phone, got up just in time for the computer's owner to return and thanked him for his generous offer of lunch which she then declined claiming she was over full from breakfast, which wasn't really a lie.

Then Scarlett threw away her coffee cup and walked out of the café with a wave to the man behind the computer who seemed to still be enamored with her despite being turned down for a date.

Scarlett's phone buzzed again with a response from Jarvis rather than from Tony, scolding her for not responding sooner. She couldn't help but smile again but ignored the comments instead of responding. There were bigger things on her mind than Tony and Jarvis though she couldn't deny she was thinking about one of them more than she was willing to say out loud.

The man she'd trusted for years to help her find jobs and keep her safe from the law was working _for_ the law. He was working for S.H.I.E.L.D. as a matter of fact.

If that was the case then why didn't S.H.I.E.L.D. have more information on the jobs that she'd done? Her file had been impressive but was only a quarter of what she'd actually done over the years. And _if_ he worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. then why the hell had he sent her into the lion's den a number of times in the past week alone? Did this mean that Scarlett worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. without realizing it?

She was sure that S.H.I.E.L.D. had many contacts throughout the globe that worked with people like her and Natasha and sent them to clean up the messes that they couldn't legally clean up. But Natasha _knew_ she'd been working for the anti-terror organization so why didn't Scarlett?

She was guessing that was because she didn't really work for them otherwise they wouldn't be pursuing her so desperately. The Indian man worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. but it didn't mean he had given any of the information out on his clients. Maybe he'd approached S.H.I.E.L.D. after he'd already known Scarlett and been in business with her. Her guess was that he had no idea that S.H.I.E.L.D. was even communicating with her or at least trying to.

But _still_ she wondered why had an anti-terror organization sent her bad information on numerous occasions? It would at least explain _how_ the information was obtained when she hadn't been able to locate it on her own. He was likely one of the less than reputable channels that S.H.I.E.L.D. used to communicate with agents around the globe, if that was what he did at all. She had many a question for him and she would have her answers one way or another.

Scarlett was done screwing around with S.H.I.E.L.D. and done screwing around with MedCo. She was going to tell S.H.I.E.L.D. where to shove their secrecy bullshit and then break _someone's_ face at MedCo for what they'd put her through. She might even throttle a few people at S.H.I.E.L.D. if they gave her the run around any longer. More than anything Scarlett hated being manipulated and after realizing the potential for how long the agency had been doing so she was worse than angry.

She was livid.

Returning to the hotel she'd been staying in Scarlett packed her things and prepared to head out for the night. There was some running around she wanted to do under the cover of darkness, including checking out the docks to see what had become of the inferno she'd left behind after being pursued by Erick. The next morning she would have a bone to pick with S.H.I.E.L.D. but for now she had bigger fish to fry. Digging through the files that she'd stolen what seemed like ages ago from the female agent who had tried in vain to stop her one morning in Egypt, Scarlett flipped through until she found the agent's information at the very back of the pile.

Agent Michelangela Pierce was going to have a very interesting morning if Scarlett had anything to say about it. On her way out of the hotel Scarlett picked up her phone and broke again into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s private servers to reroute her call so it would remain untraceable to them.

She was met with an automated service announcing who she was calling and how to contact someone at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters unless they knew the extension they were trying to reach. A few seconds after listening to the message she was met with an answering machine that would record her message if she was unsure how to reach her party.

"Listen close. Tomorrow morning at the outdoor café near the water at the Cape Grace Hotel Agent Michelangela Pierce will meet with me. If she shows up with anyone other than herself I will not show up so I recommend you play fair. It's about damn time someone does. Meeting takes place at 0800 and she's paying for breakfast." Scarlett hung up the phone without giving further information. She was sure that her voice was on file somewhere with the corporation so she didn't bother leaving any further information. They wouldn't be able to trace her phone back so there was no reason Scarlett couldn't stay somewhere nice for the night under an assumed name. Naturally she wouldn't be staying at the hotel she was using for the meeting but she had decided to stay at one equally as nice.

If being with Tony had changed one thing about Scarlett it was that she realized that she should finally be allowed to enjoy some luxury. While it wouldn't be the same without him in a nice hotel room she would make sure to at least enjoy the comfort of a five start bed and a decent dinner. Even though the room would feel empty and she would be hopelessly alone, it was better than feeling alone in a negative four star shit hole.

So Scarlett took a cab and texted back and forth with Jarvis to let him know that she was alright since Tony seemed to be busy and unresponsive. In the morning everything would change and she wasn't sure when she'd get to talk to Tony again after that. At the hotel she'd try to call him and if not she'd send him a picture as proof of life and probably to remind him what he was _not_ sharing a bed with.

Before she went to sleep, Scarlett thought of how that day had been the first victory she'd had in a very long time. It had been months since Scarlett had anything remotely close to a victory on her tally board and she was far from done winning.


	21. The Double Cross

Tony Stark had never been so on his guard in his life than he was now sitting in the nearly empty room of the warehouse he'd recently attacked. Though, now that he reflected on the thought he could have been exaggerating. Being in captivity after waking up with a car battery attached to an electromagnet had put him on his guard pretty severely for quite a long time after the incident. But still, at the moment, at _this_ moment it felt like the most defensive he'd ever been. He'd walked into the lion's den practically covered in raw meat and now he was sitting amongst them hoping that they wouldn't chomp at the bit.

"Jarvis, I don't like this." He muttered beneath his breath. There was a confusing mixture of craziness around him while he waited for the man who had promised him answers to join him at the table. Armed guards were standing near the half destroyed door, every so often glancing at him with morbid curiosity. But then there were others, sneaking in to catch a glimpse of him and then hiding to whisper about him like teenagers. Someone had even taken a _picture_ of him and not one that seemed like it was for surveillance. Why were these supposed _villains_ so enamored by him? He half suspected that someone was going to ask him for an autograph before the visit was over with. Tony was _not_ in the mood to play to a crowd.

"Neither do I, sir. Be on your guard. I'm recording every word." The computer responded in his ear, offering him no comfort whatsoever. The man he recognized as the leader of the group walked through large battered metallic sliding doors and stopped to speak to the guards stationed there. He was an older man, balding with a ring of graying hair just above his ears, blending into the long beard of the same graying color. Tony could tell by the scars on his arms and face that the hardened man had seen many battles and difficult times in his life. Still there was a sparkle of life and joy he could see in the man's eyes that left Tony unsettled. His face was currently covered with dirt and scratches, kicked up by the battle beforehand.

The people who had tortured Scarlett didn't seem to be the monsters he had suspected they would be.

There was something very big missing from the picture in front of him.

Leaning back in the second chair he'd been given after the first had collapsed beneath the weight of his suit, Tony made sure that Jarvis had a clear shot of the man in front of him just in case things went sour. The armed guards walked away hesitantly each staring at Tony suspiciously, leaving them alone and without guards of any kind. On the steel table in front of him, the man placed down his gun and pushed it toward Tony never taking his eyes off of American.

"Unarmed, as promised." He bowed his head respectfully before taking a seat cross the table from Tony, his scarred and callused palms held up in front of him. "I hope you will take my word on the matter." Tony grabbed the gun in front of him, pulled out the clip of ammunition and then crushed the barrel of the gun afterward just in case.

"You will understand if I stay on my guard. I'm outnumbered here and you've given me no reasons to trust you. Sorry but your word doesn't mean jack shit." Tony leaned against the table, having tested the strength of it earlier.

"Oh, Mr. Stark you are _not_ outnumbered here. We are untrained in comparison to the Iron Man weapon. We are amateurs." A strained smile crossed the ringleader's lips but there was more stress behind it than anything.

"Suit, it's a suit, _not_ a weapon. I have gone through great lengths to have that clarified." It was unimportant but Tony felt the need to mention that.

"My apologies." He offered a bow of his head before holding his hand to his chest. The ringleader was making a point to keep his hands visible at all times to appear like less of a threat. "We were not prepared for an attack from such a formidable opponent."

"But you _were_ prepared for an attack from someone."

"We are always prepared." For the first time Tony could read guilt on the man's face. The rumors of the group being filled with thugs and gangsters were true, he could tell by that simple movement. But as Tony has learned not all thugs were heartless monsters that preyed on weakness, particularly in that part of the world. Sometimes there were no other options for people like the men around him but to become monsters.

But still Tony wondered about them. There were so many decent people in the nearby village that had been responsible for saving Scarlett's life. Or maybe Tony had only seen what he wanted to see. He was particularly good at ignoring the darker fringe of things, especially when it came to Scarlett.

Was that true? Ever since she'd confessed the truth to him about her motives he'd been bathed in the dark shadow of her past. Maybe he wasn't as hopeful as he was leading himself to believe. After all, he was in Afghanistan digging up the past she'd tried to bury far out of his reach.

"You promised me answers." Tony didn't want to know about their history or personal lives. He didn't want to humanize them any more than he already had. All he _really_ desired were answers and he would have them whether they were heroes, villains, or somewhere in between like him.

"That I did, Mr. Stark. I am Barakat." He bowed his head respectfully again and then turned his gaze toward the door. Outside of it Tony could see men cleaning up the terrific mess that Tony had created. Had they deserved the chaos he'd created? They had attacked him first to be fair.

"The woman who was here earlier this year… Did you hold her captive? Are you responsible for what was done to her?" Tony remained stoic. These men were not to see that he was questioning their motives and his all at once. He wanted the fear he'd instilled in them to remain. That was often a problem for Tony. He was far too likable, even when he was being the world's most colossal ass hat. Something about his attitude and demeanor made him attractive to others. It had been his saving grace for many years. But today he hoped it wouldn't get the best of him.

Barakat turned his head down in shame and Tony had his answer before he spoke. But he wasn't going to be the one to break the silence between them. He wanted them to admit what they did and he wanted answers. Body language wasn't enough. Tony needed to hear the truth. He needed to see Barakat's eyes as he admitted to doing terrible things to a woman Tony couldn't imagine hurting.

"There was a woman, yes. She was a pretty girl when I found her." His brown eyes flitted back toward Tony and then to the table once more. Eye contact was often hard for people ashamed or lying.

"_And?_"

"We held her here for a length of time." Barakat didn't seem to want to tell Tony the whole truth and considering how unsavory the truth seemed Tony couldn't blame him. The more he skated around the truth, the more Tony wanted to break his nose and scream nasty things at him.

"If you don't give me answers you're going to have to deal with far worse than your conscience." Tony finally threatened when Barakat offered no further information, his lip curling and twitching in irritation.

"Yes, we held a woman here and we caused her great harm." Tony gritted his teeth and clenched his jaw, turning his gaze away. Even though he'd known the truth before he'd heard it from the ringleader's lips he was filled with the same anger that had caused him to lash out at the doctor earlier that day. "Please, let me explain!" Barakat sensed the tension radiating off of the armored billionaire and held his hands up again, eyes wide with fear and caution. Tony hadn't realized that his hands were clutching onto the edge of the table and effectively crushing it beneath the suit.

"I'm listening," Tony exhaled, having apparently also been holding his breath. He released the table from his grip and tried to relax in his chair. Unfortunately, his mind wasn't willing to give in to any attempts made to ease the tension and his neck began to ache.

"I was approached within shadow by a man."

"Yeah, trustworthy I'm sure. Do you always take candy from every stranger who offers it?" Why had Tony assumed these men were benevolent just by having seen kindness in their eyes? They were the worst kinds of monsters; men who could commit atrocities and then go back to living their lives like nothing had been done.

"When you live your life in this desert, Mr. Stark, you trust _no one_ particularly men unwilling to show their faces. But you must understand living in shadow. Not all of us have the strength to stand in the spotlight while others take aim." Was that really what other people thought Tony did? Not a chance; he just liked the attention. Besides, he looked damn good in the spotlight.

"It's not strength. If you have nothing to hide then there's no need for shadows is there? Don't throw excuses at me, Barakat. There are none you could come up with that would make me _sympathize_ with you. Not after what you've done to her and to people before her. I've spoken with the villagers and I've seen the results of your so-called tactics so you will _not_ get any pity from me." Tony resolved to stick to his guns. He had to remember the big picture, even if it was a bit harder for him since he tended to act on impulse. It didn't mean he wasn't putting much thought into the things he did, but in this situation he was more inclined to let emotions guide him rather than logical thought.

"I expect none whatsoever. I just want you to understand how things operate in this part of the world."

"I think I understand _plenty._" Tony's voice had such a bite to it that Barakat froze momentarily.

"There was a man who approached me and my men. He told us on multiple occasions how to better things for us and our people and had provided us with certain opportunities we would have not had available to us otherwise. He had the means to help us and we trusted him after time. When he told us there was a woman who was coming to put a stop to his help we were worried. He told us that what she was up to would... destroy what we had been working toward. We would receive no more help. We would lose every ounce of the independence we are fighting for and have gained. She would have us on our knees for the old regime without mercy! Our homes would be lost, Mr. Stark. Our families would suffer. She was just one woman so I was skeptical." Barakat seemed remorseful and though Tony knew there was nothing about the man in front of him that made him a hero, he hadn't expected remorse particularly after the speech had begun with excuses.

"What convinced you then? You don't seem like a naive man."

"Stories, of course." Barakat offered a small smile but it was still pained with regret. "The man in shadow told us of her prior careers and showed us the destruction she left in her wake. We would be easy to destroy for her. He told us how she would do it too. Electronic espionage... We have very little to take, but our secrets are what keep us alive. If she were to give our information to the wrong people we would be as good as dead."

"So you captured her and tortured her? Smart move." Tony rolled his eyes.

"I was relentless." Barakat scowled, still avoiding Tony's gaze. "Later I found out that the very same woman was responsible for the advancement of my home town. The woman I was sure would kill us all saved us. If I knew then what I know now, Mr. Stark, I would not have trusted those men in the shadows. It was a difficult decision but she only one woman and sacrificing her life for the good of many seemed worth the risk." Once it was clear Tony had nothing to say, Barakat continued.

"I feel terrible for what was done to her, we all do. I do not sleep knowing the wrongs I have committed. I don't know how she even managed to survive. To think this woman I thought would bring destruction on our heads instead became our savior and it is _our_ fault she suffered in the first place... it is a heavy burden to carry."

"_Burden?_ It's a burden that _you_ made the calculated decision to torture a woman you knew absolutely nothing about? I get the thing about her reputation, I get the fear of losing your homes. I even get the sacrifice play but did you even _try_ to speak with her?"

"She would not speak! And when she did it was like a snake's bite and only made me angry," Barakat responded. Fear lay behind his gaze, fear that Tony would lash out. But it was a well deserved fear.

He should be scared.

"Of course she wouldn't speak! You kidnapped her and tortured her! I wouldn't tell you a damn thing either if I were in her shoes!"

"We were told that she was a secret agent of sorts and that she would never speak to us. The man in shadow assured us that with time we could break her and while we may learn nothing of her, she would no longer be a threat to anyone." Barakat spoke quickly, stuttering over his words. The strong man was reduced fearful dribble upon seeing the rage in Tony's eyes.

"Why didn't you just kill her?"

"He told us we could not! He had formidable allies. We had seen them in the past destroy others who did not cooperate. It was very rare that the man in shadow came to us without weapons we could only dream about. When I began to doubt that the woman had any value to us after that first week of keeping her in darkness he struck a deal with me. A very tempting deal."

"Must have been pretty rewarding considering what you did to her."

"How is it that you know what was done?" Barakat seemed suspicious and offensive for the first time since Tony had begun asking questions. "Why do you want to know what happened so badly?"

"I don't think you're in a position to ask that, are you?"

"You are emotionally attached to this in some way. I see it in your face. You know this woman then?"

"Continue on with your story, Barakat, or are you are going to wish that you kept your gun." Tony slammed his fist on the table, denting it in. His hands were shaking beneath the suit in anger. This man who had been the source of Scarlett's nightmares wasn't getting any further kindness from Tony. There was no excuse available that could release him from the guilt dripping from his lips.

"Okay! Calm yourself, Mr. Stark!" Barakat once again showed the fear that was instilled by formidable weaponry. These were the kind of men that could be bought at any price. These were the types of men who hurt women and children for a _cause_. If they thought that Tony would understand what they had done just because they had been working for the _greater good_ they were sorely mistaken. There was no greater good. The doctor had told Tony that the townspeople didn't want help from thugs. The stories didn't add up.

"Don't tell me to calm down! You're spoon feeding me excuses you've come up with over the past months to dodge the blame. Ultimately _you_ tortured her. You made the decision to follow along with those men and now _you_ should pay the price. So don't tell me to _calm down_." Barakat hung his head in shame once more. The pity Tony had felt for any of the men around him had finally dissipated. It had been easy to get swept up in their guise once he'd seen them cower before him, but if Tony hadn't been in the Iron Man suit they would have killed him without a second thought.

These men didn't care about the people they crushed as long as they got what they wanted. What Barakat wanted right now was not to be killed by Tony Stark. He wanted an allegiance and he wouldn't get it.

A second man approached them apprehensively with steel cups filled with water. He handed the first to Barakat and then held the second out to Tony. Tony stared at the cup and then gestured at the half smashed table in front of him.

"Set it down, I have a thing…" Tony waved his hand at the man offering him kindness. Tony didn't like people handing him things, it was a pet peeve of sorts. On top of that he wasn't planning on drinking anything these men gave him. He wouldn't put it past them to try and poison him to even the playing field a little bit. Tony was far from gullible. Barakat seemed lost in his own mind, contemplating what he'd been told. Tony wondered what would change now. Would he see the true colors behind the mask of benevolence and admiration he'd been shown?

"You were right." Barakat spoke up after moments spent in silence while he considered Tony's words. "It is no one's fault but ours. I made the decision to hurt her. I made the decision to hurt her worse as time went on. It became a sick game." When he looked back at Tony his eyes were cold and shining with tears Tony was sure wouldn't be shed. "After we had taken her when we watched her breaking into the computers... I was unsure what to do with her."

Tony stiffened up, repeating over and over in the back of his mind not to lash out as he heard more of the story. He would never get the answers he sought if he kept interrupting.

"The man in shadow returned to us and I asked what to do. Should I kill her? That seemed obvious. Her death would keep us safe. He told me no, that she was still of some use. I asked what for and he said it would be none of my business. If I did as he asked I would be handsomely rewarded and my people would not suffer. They would pay for everything we ever dreamt of. But I had to keep her alive. They offered me a handsome sum up front."

"Then why cause her so much pain, hmm?"

"There are two answers to this." Barakat leaned against the table taking a drink of the water he had been given. "The first being that the man in shadow had told us we would not receive the rest of our payment until she was broken."

"Broken?" Tony felt a chill race down his spine. What exactly did that mean, _broken?_

"Her spirit needed to be driven out. I do not know what he or his allies wanted her for, but they wanted her so weak and frail that she would do anything for anyone who would help her." Barakat was nervous, leaning back in his chair.

"You said there was a second part of your answer."

"I told you, it became a game. She was stubborn, more so than any woman or man I have known. She broke my arm after I _shot_ her. I have never seen that kind of determination in anyone before. The threat of pain did nothing! She would not cry! She would not beg for anything not even death. She would try to escape and I would see how I could make it harder for her. She only stayed alive because we let her. If the man in shadow hadn't instructed she be kept alive then... she would've died after the first two weeks. We would give her just enough strength to live. Despite it all she never broke. The first man was angry. Every time he visited he grew angrier that she would not break."

Tony wanted to tell Scarlett how proud he was that she had never given up or given in when it would've been much easier for her to do so and stop her torture, but he also wanted to cause great harm to the man sitting across the table from him, not to mention this man in shadow. Tony had a sinking feeling about those who had manipulated Barakat and his men into doing what they had done.

Tony came to a terrible realization. What else had Scarlett suffered at the hands of these thugs? If they wanted to break her, what lengths had they gone to? Tony felt sick and suddenly desperately needed the water on the table in front of him. He guzzled the whole glass before he'd considered once again that it had been drugged. Thankfully, it didn't seem to be causing him any problems.

"What else did you do? To break her?"

"What do you mean? Torture is not enough?"

"Torturing men is different than torturing women." The implications in Tony's voice were clear and he wasn't sure he could spell it out further without getting sick.

"No, no... _no._" Barakat held up his hands defensively and leaned against the table, staring at Tony pleadingly. "I am a monster, Mr. Stark but I am not that kind of monster. I was told that I could go to any lengths and any means to break her spirit but there are some things I refuse to do. I have daughters. I have seen what happens to women thanks to men who are worse than I am. Me and my men, we are not good people I will admit that but... I am not that either." Tony sighed with relief, but had the sinking feeling in the back of his mind that he wasn't sure if this was true or not. It scared him, but how exactly would he ever know the real truth? Would Scarlett someday tell him what happened? And even then would she ever _actually_ tell him what had been done to her specifically? When it came down to it, did Tony really want to know?

"You must have been pretty upset when she got away." Tony needed to desperately change the subject before he acted on the conflicting emotions building up inside of him.

"I was torn." Barakat scowled. "On one hand she won the game and I almost wanted to congratulate her. If circumstances had been different I think she and I would've gotten along very well."

"Oh, you would've hated her." Tony sighed and shook his head. "What else though? You said torn. So what's on the other hand?"

"A second man came to us. He was not afraid of us seeing his face. Older, thick accent... He was angry she was gone but I couldn't find her no matter how I searched. The hospital said they had not seen her and none of the villagers were talking. She had to have left the country as quickly as she could. I tried to tell this man that she would not survive what I had done to her! There was no reason he should be so threatened by just one frail broken woman. He said she was _not_ broken, that I failed. And if I did not retrieve her I would not get my payment and we would not be saved."

"Sounds like you were being played."

"I did not realize that until it was too late." Barakat moistened his lips, the nerves fading but the guilt still apparent on his face. He was spent. "I asked about the first man who had wanted her broken and he said that was never an order. They wanted her and nothing more. She was an asset to their company I was told and I would regret losing her. I had two weeks to find her."

"But you never did."

"She disappeared without a trace. I have never heard of her since. The hospital in the village eventually confessed to helping her when they drove us out. I didn't care that they had, I was not angry. I found out then that she was donating money. She was responsible for the help we had received. She was the reason my daughter could give birth and her child could be saved. The cord had been wrapped around the child's neck... we would not have had the surgical means available before her help."

"Yeah, she's a regular saint until you meet her." Tony smirked momentarily before he returned to his stoic expression. "The second man, you said he had an accent..."

"Russian. Very strong and scary man, much scarier than the first. Somehow those who are not afraid of being seen are much more threatening than those who use shadows to their aid."

"And what happened when they realized you weren't getting her back?"

"I never heard from him again. I never received payment for what I did to your friend. But two weeks after he left for the last time things here changed. Men we didn't recognize showed up asking strange questions. People became sick. We discovered one of them putting something in our water supply." Tony froze. If that wasn't MedCo he didn't know who the hell is could be. It stunk of MedCo. After what he learned from Scarlett about the biological tests that were being performed in the town outside of Milan, he couldn't think of who else it would've been. But what did they want with Scarlett back then? Had they been putting this into the works from the very beginning? Tony's head was spinning with the rush of thoughts and speculation.

"They double crossed you."

"Yes. But we found out their plot and we drove them away. They would not experiment on us. We would not let them! Let them bother someone else in some other place, but here we would not be guinea pigs."

"And that worked?"

"These men, Mr. Stark, they don't want to be noticed. Resistance causes problems and if you resist just a little, they move on to find others too stupid and scared to escape." Barakat leaned forward on the table. "I know because I too have exploited these kinds of people over the years."

"So if the people of your town drove you out after that what is it you're doing out here with all these weapons?"

"When we discovered what your friend had done for our people despite the terror we had inflicted upon her we were confused. I have all this strength and power but for what? This woman who had nothing... I took it all from her, Mr. Stark... she did more for our people in that short time than I have done for them in years. The people of my home no longer need my help or anyone's thanks to her. So we have instead refocused our efforts."

"To what?"

"Stopping those men. Once we drove them out we heard stories of people dying over the mountains. Those people never stood a chance and I know I earlier spoke and told you I didn't care but that was what I felt _then_. Time changed me. Your friend changed me even though she does not know that."

"I wouldn't recommend ever trying to tell her that. I wouldn't expect her to be very forgiving."

"I wouldn't either, not after what I did." Barakat nodded. He seemed defeated and exhausted after telling his story. Tony wondered how it felt to have it off of his conscience. "I know there is no redemption for what I did Mr. Stark but every night I pray that there might be some way I can make up for the errors committed over the years. I may not be a good man, in fact I am a terrible man, but I know that now. If faced with the same situation today I would refuse profusely and offer her aid."

"You can't erase the past." Tony whispered under his breath. Is that why Scarlett was fighting so hard to right her wrongs? She couldn't change the past but she had to learn to live with it. And maybe she wouldn't be able to live with it until the chapter with MedCo had closed. That was how he'd felt about resolving what had happened within Stark Industries. No one had understood why he couldn't move on with his life and refocus on recovering from what had happened to him.

He couldn't learn to cope until he'd figured out why so many terrible men had his weapons. Maybe Scarlett couldn't recover until she'd unraveled the tangled thread that had become MedCo's involvement in her life. He was guessing that she had no idea that their web had spun this far back into her history. What would it do to her when she found out?

"You are right, but I can do more with the time I have now. I will never be that man again and I can never make up for the terrible things I have done. But I _can_ definitely keep anyone else from making the same mistakes after me. These men I shaped into killers and thugs, they knew nothing else. But now they know they can do more and for that I am proud. They know my history, some even helped me along the years to do dreadful things. But now we work to stop those men from hurting people and it is far more rewarding than anything we had done in the past. Mr. Stark I know that you are angry. I can see it in your face. I have not seen you angry in any of the magazines or television specials. But all I can say is I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well it's not every day I'm face to face with a bunch of guys who tortured someone important to me." Tony hated the way the word torture rolled off of his tongue. It felt wrong. Yeah, he'd been tortured while he was held prisoner too but it had been different. He'd known why those men wanted him even if he hadn't discovered the truth behind his kidnapping until much later. But Scarlett clearly had no idea why she'd been held and she had fought much harder to get away than Tony had. She hadn't been afforded the materials and opportunities Tony had been given.

"All I can do is offer my condolences." Barakat repeated, obviously hoping for an ounce of redemption from Tony.

"Yeah, it is all you can do and to be honest it doesn't mean much." Tony got up from where he sat and exhaled deeply. Talking to the men who were behind what had been done to Scarlett hadn't at all offered him the relief he'd been seeking.

"Would you tell her that for me? Tell her I am sorry."

"I don't know if I can." Tony shook his head negatively. Somehow he didn't think apologies would mean much to Scarlett, not about this. He was going to have a hard enough time figuring out how to tell her that he'd broken her trust, snooped into her private accounts and then delved into an area of her history that she hadn't yet been ready to share, nonetheless telling her that he'd met with the men who had caused her terrible pain and they wanted to apologize. "Thank you for your cooperation." He started walking toward the open doors and back into the sunlight. There was still more to be done. Who wanted Scarlett to be broken? Why had the man in shadow disappeared? Tony had a very distinct feeling that he knew who the man in shadow was, but was once again afraid to find out the truth.

"Mr. Stark! Before you go I have one more question." Barakat ran to catch up with Tony who stopped and looked at him over his shoulder. "Is she alright?"

"She overcame everything you put her through. If she didn't have nightmares every night I would've never known she'd been through this." Tony spoke curtly and honestly. Barakat seemed to realize something in that moment, recognition passing through his eyes. Tony had revealed his relationship with Scarlett unknowingly in his last few words.

"I am glad she is okay. I am sorry for the nightmares."

"So am I." Tony stopped and turned around to face the apologetic man. He seemed eager to change, so why couldn't Tony offer him an opportunity to assist?

"I know I said one last thing, but I have more. I know it's not much but I have money that was given to me as a down payment for the things I did to that woman."

"Oh?" Tony perked up. It was a lead, better than nothing.

"I couldn't bring myself to spend it. I kept it as a reminder to what I had done and how much the life of another human being was once worth to me. Now that I have met you I do not need it anymore. If it will be of some use to you in your pursuit of justice, then I will be happy to give it to you." Barakat turned around and spoke in his native language to the man who had given him water. The man ran off to presumably obtain the funds that had been given to them as payment for Scarlett's torture.

"It could be of some help, yes." Tony nodded, partially grateful for the assistance and partially still too angry to form proper words. He walked back toward Barakat and stood threateningly over him. "I know of something you could do to help make amends for your misdeeds. It's not enough but it's a start."

"Do you? I..." Barakat seemed surprised but eager to help in any way that he possibly could. "What is it? I will do anything."

"She's in trouble. These same men didn't give up as easily as you did. I might need your help if push comes to shove. If you help me, it won't make up for what you did but it's a better start than what you've got." Tony swallowed the large lump in the back of his throat. Maybe learning the truth hadn't been the best course of action on his part, but at least it had given him some information. Unfortunately the reality of what he'd learned had been just as horrific as the torture he'd been imagining in the far reaches of his mind.

Now _he_ was going to have nightmares.

"Anything, Mr. Stark. You give us a call and just tell us what to do and how. We will help, no questions asked." Barakat placed a hand over his heart and offered the first genuine smile that Tony had seen from anyone in the desert warehouse.

"I'll be in touch." Tony took the stack of cash wrapped in paper that had been handed to him and walked out the front door. Once the helmet flipped down over his vision he urged the Mark VII into the air and away from the warehouse. He saw the messages in the corner of his screen from Scarlett talking to Jarvis and was flooded with relief. At least she was doing okay and didn't seem to be angry with him. In fact, she was joking with his computer. He had the urge to talk to her, to hold her and tell her what he'd found out but something in his gut urged him against it.

Talking to Scarlett right now would be destructive. She would be angry when she found out what he'd done and he couldn't handle that after what he'd discovered. Eventually he would have to confess what he'd done and what he'd learned but there would be a better time and place for it. When he knew the whole story, or as much of it as he could uncover, he would tell her every detail. But right now, Tony had to follow the money in his hand and see if he could trace back to its origin. If the man in the shadows was the man he suspected it was, then Tony would make sure there was hell to pay.

Scott wasn't going to get off so easily if he was pulling the strings behind Scarlett and MedCo.


	22. Agent Pierce

The sun shone brightly on the beach of Cape Town outside of the Cape Grace Hotel. It was a typical Friday afternoon for the establishment with very little out of the ordinary. The beach was filled with tourists and residents enjoying the hot weather and cold water. About a hundred yards from the water was a shack constructed to look like it belonged in the tropics. It was an unmanned bar, and seeing as it was only seven thirty in the morning that was a good thing.

Scarlett sat at one of the tables on the beach near the bar, enjoying the sun and sand as much as the tourists seemed to. It was a beautiful day and the ocean breeze cut the morning heat as well as it could. At least that's what she was _pretending_ to do while she kept eyes on the Cape Grace Hotel and waited for Special Agent Michelangela Pierce to show up as she had commanded the night before.

It had crossed her mind on multiple occasions that they wouldn't answer her demands and she might have to take matters into her own hands. SHIELD definitely didn't want Scarlett banging down their door, and if that's what it would take to get them to back off then Scarlett would do it. So far there had been no sign of foul play, but Scarlett wasn't taking any chances. SHIELD, as far as she was concerned, was just as bad as MedCo right now. Both companies specialized in weapons, secrets and conspiracies and Scarlet no longer had the patience for either of them.

Thankfully for Mickey Pierce, Scarlett had calmed down considerably since the night before. Finding out that her long time contact and confidant was really a SHIELD agent of some kind had been a substantial blow to Scarlett's trust. The big hotel room had begun to feel less luxurious and more empty soon after she'd gone inside to relax. As much as she had wanted to enjoy her slumber in the plush bed she'd found that instead she tossed and turned as her mind went over the variety of things that could happen this morning.

Scarlett had definitely considered abandoning the meeting altogether, since it seemed pointless the more she thought about it. Would telling SHIELD to back off really change much of anything? No, it certainly wouldn't. The company was going to do what it wanted whether or not they had Scarlett's approval. But now Scarlett would let them know she was onto their ploy and they would be forced to tread lightly. The meeting with Mickey would do her no harm.

The night before she'd had a hundred or so angry words for them but now she had very few. The basic summary of the meeting would be Scarlett letting SHIELD know that she was aware of what they were up to and if they wanted to remain out of the crossfire then they should keep a steady distance behind her. She already knew what to expect from the agent. It was standard procedure to try and bring someone like her in. If they really knew anything about Scarlett then they would know she was too stubborn to cooperate.

Plus it still burned her that her trust had been violated by her contact. The Indian man. What was he playing at? How many years had he been an agent for them? Scarlett turned her attention away from her thoughts and watched instead those on the beach and passing by along the sidewalk between the beach and the hotel.

The visitors to the hotel were running along the beach playing games while others were in the water. A handful of others were lying on towels or beach chairs, sunning themselves and getting a nice tan. There was a group of small children gathered close to the water, running back and forth as the tide rolled in, pretending the ocean was chasing them like a monster. Tilting her sunglasses away from her face, she watched the children play and couldn't help but smile.

These innocent people suspected nothing malevolent was going on around them. How blissful it was to be ignorant to the harsh reality of the desert. Sometimes Scarlett wished that life could be that simple for her. Wouldn't it be nice to lie on the beach with Tony enjoying a margarita until he very likely tried to steal her bikini top while she was sunning? It was a fun mental image but it didn't seem feasible. If she could go back and choose to keep on her blinders and live a normal life, would she? Brushing her raw and pained fingers over the bump on her head again, Scarlett smirked.

Definitely not. Regular life was too boring, she much preferred the danger.

Scarlett was brought back to reality when someone tripped in the sand nearby. A young man in his twenties had tripped nearby and was looking at her sheepishly. Handsome with dark skin and dark eyes, he waved awkwardly. His friends were nearby laughing it up, amused that their friend had gotten so distracted. Giving a wave and a wink to the boy Scarlett turned her attention back to the crowd and waited. It was almost time for her meeting with Agent Pierce and she'd seen no sign of the SHIELD agent. If she was more than fifteen minutes late, Scarlett would check the security cameras of the café for signs of suspicious behavior before taking her leave.

As if on cue a familiar woman with dark brown hair casually pulled out of her face walking a golden retriever approached the hotel. Dressed in a three piece suit and looking on her guard, it was funny that Agent Pierce made no attempts to try and fit in amongst the jovial crowd. It wasn't exactly easy for Scarlett to go under cover after sustaining so many cuts and bruises on the ship a few nights prior but she'd at least _tried._

Looking down at her phone to check the time Scarlett rolled her eyes. It was eight o' clock. Michelangela was right on time. What were the odds that they'd sent Agent Pierce without back up as she had requested? Slim to none she was guessing. Thankfully Scarlett had already prepared her way out just in case SHIELD thought it'd be funny to try and take her into custody and she half expected them to. Once the agent disappeared into the fenced in café behind the hotel, Scarlett got up from her seat near the bar set up on the beach and started toward the hotel.

Her wardrobe had significantly dwindled in the weeks past when she'd had to destroy clothing that had either been contaminated or bloodied or had to discard it say, when being chased by a horrible undead rage monster. The few things she had left made her look like a cat burglar no matter how she strung them together. Considering that was essentially what they were designed for, it made sense. But still she didn't want to stand out in a crowd, at least not today and not more than she needed to. Then of course, there was Tony's Black Sabbath shirt that remained. He'd left it with her in Madrid and now she kept it safe and hidden at the bottom of her luggage. It wasn't an article of clothing she would risk losing, even if it was one of her least favorite bands.

So Scarlett had gone to one of the stores on the bottom floor of the hotel and purchased a flattering but comfortable yellow, gray and white striped sundress along with a pair of probably the least sensible shoes, heeled sandals, that she had worn since the night of the masquerade with Tony. Sometimes the nicer she looked the better she could fit in. Shoes in hand, even Scarlett didn't think walking through sand in high heels was feasible, she left the beach.

Putting her heels back on once she'd rid her feet of sand, Scarlett checked her phone before setting it to record so she could review the conversation later if necessary. In the last week she'd learned to leave nothing to chance even if it meant renewing old bad habits. Just because she was paranoid didn't mean she wasn't be followed or played. In fact, she'd been betrayed by half the people she knew in the last year so Scarlett wasn't up to trusting _anyone._ Poor Tony, would he really want to deal with this when all was said and done?

Seated at a far table in the corner of the fenced in outdoor café, the brunette was leaning over in her seat petting the friendly golden retriever who wagged his tail in response to the affection. Scarlett watched only for a few seconds then approached and sat down in the seat across from her at the table, crossing her legs and leaning back in the chair, relaxed. Agent Pierce nearly jumped out of her skin with surprise and the dog jumped up in alert as well.

"Agent Pierce." Scarlett nodded her head politely, hiding how amused she was that she'd managed to still get the jump on the SHIELD agent. The woman had known she was coming to the hotel for a meeting with someone so _why_ was she surprised when she actually showed up? At first the loyal dog was defensive and apprehensive of the newcomer. But after a few sniffs at Scarlett's heels he wagged his tail happily and seemed to return to his ever happy self. Scarlett loved dogs, but resisted giving him any attention for the moment. They had business to take care of and she couldn't be distracted by puppy dog eyes, particularly since Tony wasn't there to interrupt her. She'd have to remember to tell him later that she had officially decided he was like a puppy dog.

"Miss Damien." Mickey hid as much of the surprise from her features as she could, but there was apprehension thick in her gaze. Not that Scarlett could blame her for that at _all_. The only times she'd actually interacted with the agent hadn't been very pleasant for her. In fact, Michelangela had some pretty terrible luck when it came to Scarlett. First, she'd let Michelangela into Tony's garage after having thoroughly pissed him off, disabling Jarvis and stealing his car. Then during their second run in Scarlett had stolen the woman's top secret files and gave her the slip. It wasn't that Scarlett had anything against Mickey, she just hadn't had the time to stop and chit-chat with anyone from SHIELD.

"What's with the dog?" Scarlett cocked her head to the side curiously, peeking under the table at the dog again. She'd never run into a government agent with a canine partner, at least not in these parts of the world. It was fairly obvious that Michelangela's companion wasn't a trained police dog of any kind.

"That's Pluto. He's my dog."

"Well _obviously_… wait, come on, Mickey and Pluto? _Really?_" Scarlett smirked but Agent Pierce didn't seem to be in the mood for games, not at the moment.

"Miss Damien, you called this meeting and it sounded important." Now that Scarlett got a closer look at the agent she could see the stress in her face. Her eyes were sunken in and grayed; she hadn't been sleeping. She fidgeted with her hands beneath the table, alternating between petting Pluto and tangling and untangling the leash in her fingers. She was nervous about the meeting with Scarlett but also stressed about something else. For a government agent, Michelangela wasn't very good at hiding her emotional turmoil in the least. Scarlett had a pretty obvious guess to what was bothering her.

As Mickey went to speak again, Scarlett reached into her bag and grabbed the folders she'd taken from the agent in Egypt and dropped them in front of her on the table. Mickey's mouth hung open awkwardly and she stared down at the files and then back up at Scarlett who was waiting for any reaction, physical or vocal. Flipping through the pages in the folder suspiciously Mickey glanced at Scarlett then back at the folders.

"Thank you," She said at last then sighed and it appeared as though a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. The stress still hung about her like a dark cloud, but a tiny bit of the tension had been relieved.

"I figured you'd need those back before someone realized they were missing. I made a few corrections here and there. You know… for the leading counter terrorism agency on the planet your information is strangely inaccurate. At least when it comes to _me_." Scarlett offered a smile, but not exactly a gentle one. She was playing the know it all card. No matter how the tables turned Scarlett needed Mickey to think she didn't need SHIELD's help or information. The deck had to be stacked in her favor even if half the cards were blank. Negotiations were ninety percent bullshit and ten percent truth.

"Why are you giving them back to me now?" Mickey leaned on the table curiously. Her hesitation faded at long last.

"Tony mentioned that you _might_ have been distressed when you found out I stole them." Scarlett folded her hands in her lap and then smiled as Pluto brushed his wet nose against her palm in hopes of receiving some sort of affection from her. Scarlett played tough for a few seconds but relented quickly and scratched the dog behind its ears. "It was never my intention to get you into trouble with your superiors but I needed the information you had and didn't have the time to sit around while you tried to talk me into coming in because that's what you're trained to do."

"But you have the time now to listen, then?"

"Not as much time as you'd think." Scarlett scoffed and then waved the waiter off as he offered her water. Mickey on the other hand placed an order for orange juice and a short stack.

"You should order something, this is on SHIELD per your request." Mickey nodded toward the waiter.

"Just coffee." Scarlett's appetite wasn't what it had been and nothing seemed quite as good as the food she'd gotten at the small run down diner the day prior. The stress she'd discarded that morning after surviving nearly drowning at the hands of a monster had returned in full force.

"You called this meeting today, Miss Damien… So what is it you wish to discuss? I know what _I _was instructed to speak to you about but something tells me that you have your own agenda."

"Smart girl, I had no doubt. Last night when I made that call… I was very angry but now I've managed to collect my head. I have one question for you… _Why_ are you helping me?" Scarlett spoke immediately after Mickey finished her thought. The agent hesitated and then took a drink of her water before speaking again. She seemed to want to say something but instead changed her mind.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Mickey averted her eyes, using Pluto as a distraction.

"Oh, don't play dumb Agent Pierce. You've got this cute awkward shy thing going on, I get it… but you're, well maybe not _you_, but SHIELD is assisting me under the table." Scarlett continued to pet Pluto who seemed perfectly content to rest all of his weight against her. "SHIELD has been shadowing me and if I find out that it's been for longer than these past few weeks someone is going to pay and I don't want it to be you. You seem like a nice girl and I've inconvenienced you already many times." Mickey didn't respond and again looked apprehensive. She seemed to want to tell share something with Scarlett but was obviously instructed not to.

"You have to understand, Miss Damien. We're in the business of making sure people like _you_ don't put others at risk with their actions. Unfortunately you seem to be doing that quite often so you can understand that we're keeping close tabs on you."

"SHIELD is in the business of meddling in matters they don't belong in. I am _not_ a terrorist and I don't appreciate being treated like one." Scarlett stopped petting Pluto until he whined in response and thudded his tail against her foot. The dog slowly scooted closer to her and licked her palm until she complied and pet him again.

"I know you're not. SHIELD knows you're no threat to them. That was not an easy decision to make by the way." Mickey rubbed her temples and then thanked the waiter who brought her meal and Scarlett's coffee. "If I had it my way then you would be left alone but I don't get my way very often. Things are more complicated than you realize."

"Everyone thinks that I'm not aware of how complex things are, but I'm fully aware." Scarlett took a sip of the coffee after adding creamer then set the cup back down. "You have no reason to trust me or my judgment considering our brief but notable history. In good faith I would like to mention something personal. I overhead Pepper and Tony talking about your connection with Leonard after our first meeting. I'm sorry about what happened." Mickey hadn't been expecting that and her skin paled, her hand immediately brushing over the spot where her engagement ring had once been on her left hand.

"It wasn't your fault, specifically." Mickey spoke hesitantly once her tongue had managed to move out of the way. She was obviously uncomfortable talking about the events surrounding her fiancé's death.

"I'm still sorry. And I'm sorry for bringing it up like this too. You're obviously thinking about it, you're… distracted. You didn't expect me to join you here but that's the whole point of you coming to this place this morning so… you must be thinking about something else. You keep adjusting that hand like it's missing some weight and… I'm just sorry that it happened. You of all people have to understand why I'm pursuing them the way that I am. What happened to him was inexcusable and I refuse to let it happen again on my account."

"Of course I understand." Mickey grew serious, finally managing to gather her bearings after the startling change in subject. "I want MedCo to be stopped more than most do but not at the expense of your life. That's where you're headed Miss Damien. SHIELD can help you, if you let us. We have a common goal! You want to stop them and so do we. We can't have you running around the globe while being pursued by these monsters. Other people are bound to get hurt in the mess you're leaving behind."

"So what is it that you and SHIELD expect me to do exactly?" Scarlett continued smiling. She leaned back in her seat but behind her mask of playfulness she felt guilt in her stomach again. It was easy to forget about the man who had died while trying to play hero with Tony at the masquerade. No one had expected MedCo robots to attack that day particularly ones made to Scarlett's clever design. It was impossible for her not to feel responsible for his death and the injuries that had followed. She'd been so focused on the existence of the robots themselves that she'd nearly forgotten that a life had been lost and that of a man who had been nothing but kind to her.

"Come in with me. Talk to the team we have set up."

"Not a chance." Scarlett laughed and shook her head. "That's not even an option. I'm surprised you guys haven't developed a better system yet."

"We can help you but not if you're out there playing lone gunman."

"You've _already_ been helping me without me coming in so why would I change tactics? Actually that's part of why I called this meeting. What does SHIELD think they're playing at manipulating everyone in their path? I can handle myself without a babysitter. I would've never suspected that my contact had turned until the other day when he worried about me. You good guys get so attached _so_ easily. I should've known that when he was worried about me that he had to be working for you. Guys like him? Real guys like him… they don't care what happens to people like me. I'm good at my job but I'm a dime a dozen in this business." Scarlett tapped her fingers against the table, the other hand lazily petting Pluto who was well on his way to falling asleep in her lap. "I need to know why you're helping me when I'm being so uncooperative. Why is SHIELD going to such great lengths for me?"

"I'm not a field agent, Miss Damien."

"Stop it with the last name thing, it's _Scarlett._ God is this what it felt like when I was calling Tony by his last name? How annoying."

"Fine, Scarlett… as I was saying, I'm just a messenger. Grunt work you see, not that I wouldn't _love_ to be a field agent but… I'm here working with someone else and this person might have a bit of a soft spot for you. There's no real way to know if that's true or not, but I can assure you I haven't been leaving you any clues of any kind or information that's classified. I'm not authorized to make such decisions. But someone else could be. I couldn't say." Mickey had managed to confuse herself with her wording and seemed to be revising her sentence in her head then nodded resolutely to confirm that she'd meant everything she'd said.

"You see, this is why I don't work with government agencies."

"We're _not_ a government agency. It's a common misconception actually. People seem to _think_ we are."

"You're worse. A privatized agency that thinks they're above the law." Scarlett shook her head in disapproval. "It's all smoke and mirrors what you do."

"No offense Scarlett, but isn't that what _you_ do too?" Mickey picked at the food in front of her. She'd held off on eating at first as not to be rude, but it was a shame to let fluffy pancakes go to waste.

"Yes, but I don't have to worry if the people I'm working with are lying to me… because I'm the only person I'm working with. It's a different game we play, even if we do have common goals on this particular occasion"

"What about Mr. Stark? Don't you work with him rather frequently lately? You don't want him to get in too deep with this, do you?"

"He's not with me right now and I wouldn't exactly say we work together as we do hinder each other. As for being in too deep, if he were here he'd firstly point out that he had been in too deep on more than one occasion and I would correct him for you. He's not wrong. But not in the way he would've implied. Tony made his decision when I gave him more than one chance to back out. He's very loyal." Scarlett shook her head and then glanced down at Pluto whose ear was twitching in his sleep. "Does your dog always drool this much?" She asked when Mickey didn't immediately respond. Scarlett seemed different when she'd brought up Tony. She seemed sadder. Mickey was morbidly curious to what was going on between the two, but knew it wasn't the time or the place.

"Only when he's happy." Mickey looked under the table and then leaned back in her chair when she saw Pluto half asleep on Scarlett's lap.

"It's pretty gross."

"Yeah it is. Look Scarlett, I assure you that we are only trying to help you but we can only do so much when we're met with resistance at every turn."

"That's another problem. SHIELD seems to think I want their help. But no one communicates. Yes, I know that you have tried to speak to me in the past but there has never been an occasion that didn't come with strings. I can't know who is an enemy and who is SHIELD without communication. And if that requires me coming in for some ridiculous debriefing and contract signings that will succeed in nothing but wasting my time and risk my imprisonment then it is completely off the table!"

"Don't you need our help though?" Mickey looked at her expectantly. "We can take this off your hands. Deal with MedCo for you and you can go live your life."

"Under SHIELD's thumb you mean? What sort of life is that?" Scarlett looked around them to make sure no one was listening then leaned closer to Mickey across the table. "That's what would happen if I came in with you, right? I'd be treated like a peer but then kept there for my own safety until the situation blew over. You said it earlier, you can't have me running around and creating chaos in my wake since MedCo so desperately wants me for whatever reason. Then after MedCo what would happen? Charges pressed against me for the pathetic information in those files or my involvement with MedCo? I know what happens to people who don't cooperate. I'm not that desperate." Mickey didn't answer, and it was clear to Scarlett that Mickey knew the truth as well as she did.

"You have friends at SHIELD, Scarlett. Not just me but there are others who would make sure that you don't end up a prisoner of war."

"No." Scarlett shook her head in objection. "I called this meeting to tell you to back off. I am willing to work with SHIELD but under my own terms. When I have information I will contact _you,_ Mickey. You might not see me, you might not actually hear from me but when I have information for you, you'll know."

"_Me?_ Like me personally or…" Mickey blinked in surprise and again seemed apprehensive.

"I'm a powerful ally and you know so I'm turning the tables. I'll come to _you_ when I have information or I'll leave it for you in one way or another but I will under no circumstances be brought into SHIELD. Not now. Just make sure you don't get in my way again or this will not be a nice breakfast the next time we're together."

"I appreciate your… faith in me, I think." Despite her words, Mickey looked utterly and completely confused. Why did Scarlett trust her if that was indeed what she was implying? She'd done nothing to be friendly with her or prove her worth to the woman but there she was, offering to give her information that no other agent would get their hands on. The prospect was exciting, confusing, and nerve racking all at once. "But I can do better if you come in with me. I'll make sure things don't go as you suspect they will." If Mickey had Scarlett as her personal contact would it help her become a field agent?

"I already told you I'm not coming in."

"Not as a prisoner. Let's stop this skirting around the truth and playing games back and forth and… just come in and talk to Coulson. We can swap information and send you back out after these guys with the full force of SHIELD behind you." Mickey figured that if Scarlett trusted her enough to offer to be a contact for her then she could offer some advice at the very least. She wasn't holding her breath for a positive response, but she couldn't help but try.

"This is _my_ mess to get out of." Scarlett nodded her head and at long last her smile faded. She'd held up the guise long enough. "SHIELD thinks they know everything about what's going on with these monsters but the truth is you don't know the half of it."

"That's why we _need_ you to come in. With our information combined we could plan a strategic attack… Put a stop to this madness."

"No." Scarlett patted Pluto on the head which woke the dog up, but he was none too upset about it. "You said it yourself. You're _not_ a field agent. You called yourself a glorified go-fer practically. I'm sure that you would bring me in with every intention of keeping me safe and having me as a continued part of the investigative process. But I'm too much of a risk for SHIELD to have running around. MedCo thinks they're playing a game with me. Wherever I am danger isn't far behind. If I go in with you, I _will_ be held prisoner. It's what I would do in their shoes." Scarlett knew how agencies like SHIELD operated. They would be fools to let her go once they had her within their sights.

"We wouldn't let that happen, I _told_ you…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I have friends in SHIELD. I got it, but you can't make promises like that, Mickey."

"But we can help you. That's all we want."

"I know that's what _you _want." Scarlett smiled in understanding. "I came here with every intention of telling you and your company to back out of my life and quit playing games with me and that's _it_. When I have more information for you I'll contact you the same way I did before. And if my contact… you know the Indian man who… has been helping me find jobs for the last few years…. If he calls again, tell him I'll find him and it won't end pretty. I know he cares about me, but he _lied_ to me. That confidence is broken and he won't be trusted again." Scarlett stood from her place at the table and Mickey did too. Pluto shifted with a whine and then laid near the table lazily.

"You're being a fool." Mickey called to her. Scarlett walked back to the table, not wanting to cause a scene in public. Several people turned their attention to the duo.

"Am I?"

"You're acting like a spy but you're not! You're a target. They want _you_, Scarlett. You're a fly crawling in their web and eventually they're going to get tired of you buzzing around." Mickey lowered her voice as she spoke and Scarlett got closer, making sure that no one was paying close enough attention to really overhear what she was shouting.

"Is that what you really think?" Scarlett felt dizzy with frustration. Why did no one have any faith in her? She'd made mistakes in the past few weeks due to lack of sleep and illness that still clung in her chest but she was still damn good at what she was doing. Was regaining the upper hand against MedCo and SHIELD not enough to prove that?

"You're going to die." Mickey implored, flopping back down in her seat. "None of us want that. I know you can't possibly want that."

Scarlett didn't sit back down and instead took one last drink of her coffee. Reaching in her bag she pulled out some cash and tossed it at the woman.

"SHIELD underestimates me." Reaching down to pet Pluto one more time and whispering to him he was a good boy Scarlett then turned her attention back to Mickey one last time. "Thank you for your time, Agent Pierce. We'll be in touch." Starting to walk away again she spoke without looking back. "Keep the change. I've decided that I don't want SHIELD's charity anymore."

Mickey watched the volatile woman walk away and leaned back in her chair. That wasn't what she had expected from that meeting in the least. Scarlett had sounded mad on the recording from the night before, but she'd anticipated being able to bring her in or convince her to meet with Coulson at the very least. But Scarlett didn't seem interested in the power that SHIELD could offer her and instead wanted them off of her back.

It wasn't as simple as that though.

Mickey hadn't lied. Scarlett had friends in higher places than she thought she did. Picking up her phone, Mickey dialed and then placed it to her ear. Nonchalantly she rubbed her finger over the faded line on her finger where her ring had once sat and considered Scarlett's words carefully. Could she really take down MedCo single handedly? Were her superiors at SHIELD just trying to put her away? Michelangela knew what SHIELD was capable of but was doing her best to stay along a strong moral path.

"I'm going to need help with Scarlett Damien." There was no response on the other end of the phone. After the person on the other end hung up Mickey set down her phone and pushed away her pancakes. Somehow she had lost her appetite.


	23. Foundation of Lies

[[Sorry for being a little late today. Saw IM3. My story is officially a Pre-Avengers series.]]

Herat was one of the safer and wealthier cities in Afghanistan. Situated near the western border of the country, it was still dangerous by American standards. Tony wore a dark gray jacket with the collar pulled high in hopes of providing some anonymity while he continued his search. Stealthy wasn't exactly his forte but he'd learned a few things during his time as Iron Man and from watching Scarlett work over the past few weeks.

The money that Barakat had provided him with had been easy to trace once he'd gotten in touch with his best friend and confidant Colonel Rhodes, or Rhodey as Tony referred to him. The military man had at first scolded Tony for disappearing without any word of his whereabouts then had attempted to pry into the more personal aspect of Tony's current "mission" that Pepper had apparently hinted at. Apparently his assistant was a bit of a gossip. As much as Tony _loved_ to kiss and tell he assured Rhodey that there was a time and place for the dirty details and it wouldn't be until he was back in the States.

Though Tony did promise that at a later time he would have Rhodey over to meet Scarlett and see for himself why Tony had traveled halfway across the world on her heels. Not that Tony was basing the foundation off of this relationship on looks, but it certainly didn't hurt. Tony wasn't one for modesty.

Thankfully, Rhodey understood that what Tony was doing in Afghanistan was dangerous and time sensitive. It wasn't like Afghanistan was one of the safest places in the world for someone like him to be walking around even on a regular day. The country was at war with itself, the Taliban versus the current regime. Even the safer cities, such as Herat, were dangerous and filled with violence. Explosions were frequent as different parties tried to draw attention to their political views and often the police engaged in warfare with rebels outside the city. It was common for gunfire to be heard in the distance. Traveling into the region was greatly discouraged but Tony had enough money to sneak his way into any part of the world if he wanted to.

On that particular day there was no gunfire, no explosions and not a cloud in the sky. Herat was at peace for the time being. In fact, the area that Tony had traveled to was quite nice. He'd discovered that the currency he'd been given had been exchanged near the airport from Euros. Bills from the same transaction had paid for an apartment in the central part of the city. Now Tony stood in front of that building where the apartment was still listed as rented to the same tenant, one Costas Tororan. When Tony had done a background check on the name, he'd found that it was a false identity created fifteen months prior. While there were several people with such a name, none of them had ever lived in the Herat area.

What would Tony find in that apartment? That was what kept him from going in and searching and left him pacing up and down the newly paved street. Would there be someone waiting for him inside? Maybe it was Scott as he suspected or perhaps it was some other unknown villain. For all Tony knew, he could've been way off base about Scarlett's ex-boyfriend. It wasn't like he thought clearly when it came to that sort of thing. As far as Tony was concerned, the ex could rot in hell and if he ever showed his face again or any interest in Scarlett Tony would break his face.

It was very mature really. Tony was a jealous lover, even if Scott wasn't the monster he suspected he'd have nothing but ill things to say about him. One thing had been confirmed for Tony, and that was that MedCo had a hand in Scarlett's torture. It was time to find out if Scott had a hand in orchestrating the whole thing.

There was something else that kept Tony from going inside. What if he found _nothing?_ Considering how long ago the transactions had taken place it was possible that the apartment had been abandoned. But then why was it still being paid for and kept? Tony considered asking the other tenants but didn't think it was a very wise decision on his part. He had no idea what connections this Costas had to his neighbors. It was unlikely Tony wouldn't find anything. If Costas was still paying for the apartment then it was likely he had something to hide there.

At long last Tony gathered the courage to walk through the front door of the hotel and straight to the staircase at the back end of the hall. Apartment 5B was calling to him and now that he was in the complex, he was practically running toward it. At the off chance that someone in the building stopped him and asked what he was doing there in one of the few languages he didn't speak, Tony wanted to avoid all awkward conflict is possible. The last thing he needed was to end up in some foreign jail for the night, begging for Rhodey to come and get him out before he was flogged or the press caught wind of it.

After three flights of stairs Tony was out of breath and slowed to a walk. There were no other occupants coming in and out of the stairwell and he hoped very much that it would stay that way. Once on the fifth floor, Tony checked to make sure the hallway was as void of humanity as the stairwell had been. Then he tried the door to apartment 5B and found it steadfastly locked. At first he knocked. If someone was home, it would make things far more complex, but Tony was hoping he'd get lucky.

Most of what he'd accomplished in the past few days had been founded on luck, now that he thought about it. When there was no response, Tony knocked a second time just to make sure that he was truly in the clear. When he was sure that he was on his own, he grabbed the doorknob and shoved his shoulder against the door in hopes of breaking the wood near the lock. When it cracked but didn't give, Tony grumbled.

He bet Scarlett would've taken it out in one blow. He wouldn't expect any less from double-oh-Scarlett. Making sure the sound of wood cracking didn't alert any of the neighboring tenants, Tony took a step back and then kicked at the door instead of hurting his shoulder again. That did the trick! The door wasn't sturdy enough to hold fast through Tony's blow and flew inward with enough force that Tony nearly fell flat on his face. He hadn't expected it to break away so easily after the resistance it had put up against his shoulder.

"Must have… uh, loosened it…" Tony cleared his throat after he regained his balance. Not that there was anyone nearby to explain himself to, but he couldn't help it. Straightening his collar, Tony closed the now damaged door behind him the best he could and stepped cautiously forward. Just because no one had answered his knocks didn't mean that no one was home. What if it wasn't Scott as Tony had guessed? He did have an unnatural loathing for the man he'd never met before. Maybe it was someone far more formidable than her ex-boyfriend sounded according to Scarlett's description? He couldn't shake the fear in his mind that he was wrong. Tony very much didn't like being wrong. Right now, being wrong could've led to getting his ass kicked.

Tony was skilled in hand to hand combat thanks to the extensive training he'd undergone after becoming Iron Man but he was by no stretch of the word ready for a physical fight. Outside of his suit he didn't feel nearly as safe but he couldn't be inside the machinery all the time. But the more he thought about it, the scarier the world seemed without it around to protect him. How could he continue protecting someone like Scarlett without it? He could already hear her arguing in his head that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself.

It didn't matter how strong she was. His enemies were about to become _her_ enemies and vice versa. If he couldn't take care of the woman he loved then what good was it being Iron Man?

Someday he was hoping to articulate that point without sounding like a chauvinist pig. It had nothing to do with her being incapable and everything to do with him _caring_ about her. Maybe when all was said and done with MedCo Tony would be able to explain it well enough. Just like Scarlett worried he wouldn't be safe against MedCo, he worried _she_ wouldn't be safe in general. Ever since he'd witnessed her waking up from that horrible nightmare he'd had a terrible time sleeping. There were tortures he couldn't save her from already, what would the future hold?

When he heard no suspicious noises within the hallway beyond the apartment door, Tony crept forward cautiously. Peeking through a door to his left he found nothing but a coat closet, which proved empty minus a few abandoned hangars on the railing and the floor. Continuing onward he discovered a small bathroom on the right, also empty minus a roll of toilet paper standing upright on the counter. Despite seeming abandoned thus far, the apartment was clean and well cared for. He'd expected it to be abandoned when he got there, but it seemed like someone was in often enough that they were keeping it dust free and cared for even if it was only the bare minimum amount of care.

But why would this man in shadow, presumably Scott at this point in Tony's mind, need to return to this part of the world so frequently? It was dangerous here, even for men like Tony who knew very well how to take care of themselves. So, why would a mousy nerd like Scott make regular visits to Herat? Even if it was regarded as the safest region in Afghanistan it was still too dangerous for vacationing.

Any work this _shadow man_ was doing in Afghanistan couldn't be for the greater good. People who hid in the dangerous corners of the world were usually up to something equally as dangerous. Shaking off the chills that ran down his spine, Tony continued through the apartment and found an unfurnished living room with the exception of one poorly constructed table and a small old television seated on the floor in the corner. Whoever was living there didn't seem to require the regular creature comforts one would find in a home.

Did Scarlett live like that when she'd been on a job? Bare bones, nothing to bring her joy or excitement? Tony would make a mental note to ask and once again dismissed the idea of someone like her living in this place. He couldn't imagine the woman he knew in a room like this and even the knowledge that she had been practically a spy couldn't shape the idea of it in his mind. The woman _he_ knew was funny, clever, sexy and exciting. He couldn't picture her cold and heartless with a gun in her hand, creeping around through alleyways and living on the bare minimum to avoid being caught. But maybe she'd changed more in the past few weeks than he had previously suspected.

Through the living room Tony tapped his fingers against the counter as he continued and stared out at the setting sun over Herat. Soon the place would be pitch black and he wouldn't feel safe on the streets. Hurrying into the kitchen, he opened the fridge and found a few doggy bags of food. Someone had definitely recently been there. What if they were out right now at dinner and on their way back? Tony needed to hurry up and get the hell out of there, but only after he found what he was looking for.

But what _was_ he looking for? That was easy. Proof that whoever had set Scarlett up last year was the same person behind her involvement with MedCo and was still pulling the strings on their current attempts to ruin her life. Tony was both hoping to find proof that this man was Scott and hoping to find something to exonerate him of the claim.

Would it crush Scarlett to know that a man she potentially loved had purposely made her life a living hell? Tony couldn't imagine what it would be like for her if it was true. While he'd had to deal with the betrayal of Obadiah Stane, his father's business partner and practically an uncle to Tony, he had never really _loved_ the man. Even though Scarlett talked about the relationship with some disdain and regret, he knew that she'd cared for him enough to stay with him for many years. Sometimes one didn't see how destructive a relationship was until they were out of it and he was guessing that's how things were for her.

But what if it was far more destructive than she ever could've guessed? Tony shook off the thought and flipped on the light switches in the apartment before it could get too dark with the setting sun. Just as he had guessed, the electricity worked just fine pointing toward the idea that someone kept this apartment to visit on a regular basis.

At the other end of the kitchen was a door that led to the only bedroom there. It was far more furnished than anything else in the apartment, but there still wasn't much. Just a Queen sized bed, not even covered with any sheets or pillows. Other than that there was a lamp in the corner, which Tony turned on as he entered the room. Sitting on the bed, he heaved a sigh. There was nothing there of note. It was the only other lead Tony had and it had gone completely dry. The payments had been made in cash for the apartment, so there wasn't even a money trail for him to follow. It had been a stretch to follow it as far as he had to the apartment and he never would've gotten there if it hadn't been for Rhodey's military involvement and his access to the terror watch list.

How would he explain to Scarlett that he'd gone to get her answers and had instead only ended up betraying her trust and sticking his nose where it didn't belong? Without answers it just looked like Tony didn't have the patience to wait for her to open up about what she'd been through. While that was partially true, Tony had hoped to find a connection between her torture and their current predicament. So what would he do now? How mad would Scarlett be? He knew that he'd be _considerably_ angry if she went digging into his history when he refused to talk about it for whatever reason.

The only difference was that Tony had nothing to hide. His whole life was on camera thanks to the press and his father's fame. But Scarlett was different. She'd purposely stayed in the shadows even though he was sure with her knowledge and charisma she could've been just as famous as he was if she had wanted to be.

Getting up with every intention of leaving the apartment, Tony stopped when he noticed the sliding door of the closet slightly ajar. There was a worn box filled with something that Tony couldn't discern from where he stood. Opening the closet he picked up the box and set it down on the mattress. His stomach churned as he pulled out what laid on top; a bloodied hospital gown, preserved in plastic.

Tony set it down carefully on the bed and then pulled out a stack of seemingly blank papers. Flipping through them front and back, he placed them down on the bed without a second thought. There was a worn copy of A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle which Tony flipped through and found nothing of note so he set that aside. But at the bottom of the box was what interested Tony the most.

There was an upside down picture frame and a hospital bracelet. Picking up the hospital bracelet, Tony turned it over in his hand and brushed his thumb over the name on it.

_Scarlett Damien_.

Did that mean the bloodied hospital gown was _also_ hers? Tony's stomach churned and he felt sick. Who else would have access to these things _besides_ Scott? He suddenly wished he hadn't had curry for lunch as it repeated on him and burned the back of his throat. Trembling hands went to put down the hospital bracelet but Tony couldn't seem to let go of it. Had this been the one she'd worn after seeking treatment elsewhere? Against his better judgment, Tony placed the hospital bracelet into his pocket. It was concrete proof that whoever obtained the bracelet was the man in shadow that had made the deal with the group of rebels in the Afghani desert.

Scarlett might know the answer or she might not. Worst case scenario, Tony could go to the hospital and see if anyone had made inquiries about her before this, though that would require finding out from Scarlett which hospital she had fled to.

Finally Tony flipped over the picture frame and sighed. In it was a picture of Scarlett with the man he presumed was Scott. They were at the beach, though Tony was unsure where and Scott had his arm around her. He was skinny, with neatly kept blond hair and blue eyes. Glasses hung on the end of his nose which was covered in white sun block. While he was more handsome than Tony had hoped he would be, he was less formidable than he'd expected.

No wonder Scarlett had a hard time picturing Scott as any kind of villain. Though who else would have that picture of them together? If Tony hadn't been completely convinced that Scott was the man in shadow when he'd entered the apartment, he was certainly convinced now. Packing up the box, Tony didn't make a big deal out of the order in which things were put back into it. He'd already stolen something from the box so Scott would know someone had been rummaging through his things.

Tony didn't much care. Let Scott come for him. He'd love for nothing more than to bash in the guy's face for what he'd done to Scarlett. In fact, now Tony was personally offended. What kind of a creep was he, keeping her bloody hospital gown and bracelet? Then again, Tony had just shoved the same thing into his pocket.

As proof, he reminded himself.

He'd seen enough, Tony was ready to get the hell out of Afghanistan and find Scarlett so he could tell her the truth about her past lover. It could lead to a fight, but he didn't mind fighting with Scarlett; it meant they would later get to make up. Plus, he could finally speak ill about her ex-boyfriend without getting that condescending look he'd become so familiar with. Flipping off the light, Tony walked back to the box with every intention of shoving it into the closet. But as he did, the light of his arc reactor illuminated something on one of the blank sheets of paper. It was hard to see, since the light was dimmed by Tony's shirt and half of his jacket, but he could've sworn there was something there.

Was he seeing things?

Tony set down the box again and pulled out a handful of the papers. Sure enough, under the light of his reactor dim writing had been revealed. Hastily Tony tugged off his jacket and threw it on the bed and when that proved not to be enough, he threw his shirt off as well. The writing on the paper was crystal clear under the blue glow of the reactor seated in his chest, keeping him alive.

The notes had been written in secret with a chemical that would appear only under the glow of a black light. But the light of the arc reactor seemed to have the same effect on whatever chemical compound had been used as ink. Tony flipped through the papers of familiar handwriting. They were equations and schematics for medical equipment that Tony recognized having seen in various science magazines in the past. The new magnetic technology becoming more commonly used in magnetic resonance imaging machinery was described at length as a theory but had never been tested, not by the person who wrote those notes.

Tony remembered having been wowed at the breakthrough then and having been unable to find the source of the technology. The idea had apparently been sold to a private investor who then had it published and mass manufactured. At the bottom of the pile of notes theorized, Tony found a sales receipt written in the same invisible ink. Someone had rigged a printer to use the ink of their own making in order to produce copies of someone's notes.

"Oh no," Tony muttered and leaned his head back. Could it really be true? Closing his eyes he tried to recall the notebook he'd read through while Scarlett was sick. She'd made notes about bulletproof material and lifelike prosthetic limbs in her spare time and kept them in that little notebook for further use. Had she been doing that for years in between the more dangerous jobs she'd taken? Tony kept shuffling through the stacks of papers and found similar notes for similar inventions that he'd seen show up in science journals and even some that had been displayed at his own Stark Expo the year prior.

Each receipt for the purchase of the idea had been written in far different handwriting than the one the notes had been written in. Tony was so flabbergasted by what he saw that he again sat down on the mattress and had to take a few moments to catch his breath.

"Wouldn't she notice someone was stealing her work?" Tony whispered while he flipped through the remaining pages until he reached the bottom of the stack. But maybe Scarlett _wouldn't_ have noticed. Her life had been a mess for the last year, she'd made that perfectly clear. Between working the dangerous way she had, being taken hostage by a rebel group in Afghanistan, then spending a long period of time healing before being taken in by MedCo it was entirely possible that she wouldn't have noticed if someone close to her was copying her notes and selling them right underneath her nose. He guessed she wasn't the type to keep up with science journals and press conferences after so much chaos.

Tony found the paper crumbled up in his hand as he considered more and more the truth of what he had discovered. Not only had Scott set her up to be tortured and held hostage on multiple occasions, he'd stolen her work and made a fortune off of it. If he'd walked in at that moment, Tony would've killed him.

He had to warn Scarlett. Scott had survived the MedCo explosion not out of luck but because he'd never been in any danger in the first place. At least that was what Tony was guessing. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Tony pulled the picture frame out once more and had Jarvis take a copy of the photo for his personal use. Maybe the rebels who offered him any help they could provide would be able to identify the man who had visited them as Scott. Even after what he'd discovered in the apartment, Tony had no real concrete evidence that it was Scott behind it all. Unfortunately there were no names on any of the papers. He needed something real, something tangible. If he could get confirmation from the rebels that the man they were dealing with was indeed Scott then he could hand over the identity to S.H.I.E.L.D. and Scarlett at the same time.

Throwing the picture onto the floor in anger, Tony dumped the box on the floor and then kicked the frame of the bed.

"Son of a bitch!" He cursed and swung his fist in the air. More than anything he wished he had something he could hit or break that would help him get rid of the frustration building up in his system. After this he deserved one hell of a vacation and with any luck he'd be taking it _with_ Scarlett. That was if she didn't lose her mind after he filled her in on what he had discovered in the desert. Would there be any way for him to get her the credit for her work that she so deserved?

Hurrying out of the room before he did more damage to himself and lingered longer than necessary with his shirt and jacket in hand, Tony flipped off the light in the kitchen and then groaned when the walls lit up in the living room with the same fluorescent writing that he'd found on the papers in the bedroom that were now scattered about on the floor. Running his hand through his hair, he paced the kitchen in the light of his reactor before turning back to face the scribbling on the wall. At first it seemed like nonsense but the more Tony read the more it made sense.

"Why won't you love me?" Tony whispered, brushing his fingers over one of the lines that was repeated in multiple lines along the wall, written more frantically each time as it was repeated. Much of what was written seemed like nonsensical ramblings or random words scattered about. Everything about Scarlett seemed to catch his eye before the other words. Maybe it was because he was looking for something pertaining to her. Tony was afraid of what he'd find, so maybe his mind didn't want to make sense of it.

It sounded like Scott had become a psychotic pain in the ass somewhere along the line. Tony couldn't blame her for not wanting to stay with someone like that, but how had she become involved with it for so long and so seriously? Had she not seen what he was like? But then a word caught his eye, well a place more like it.

_Madrid._

The next six or seven words suddenly seemed less random. These had been plans carried out by Scott. There just above the word, Tony found Dakar and several more words. On the opposite wall, Tony found equations written from top to bottom. Chemical compounds that he couldn't put together due to his spinning head. He had to take a step away before he could look back at them. Brushing his fingers over the formula Tony knew immediately it was for some kind of mutated virus.

Beneath the first few formulas were experiment notes. Outside of Dakar the water had been tainted after setting up the base of a company that would offer jobs to the people there and seem benevolent at first glance. After a week of poisoning the water, the experiment had taken a turn for the worst. People grew violently ill and malformations of the skin became rampant. They thought it was a plague spreading throughout the city so a fence was built to keep anyone else from coming in and being exposed to it.

That had been the city that Tony had found Scarlett exploring that had been abandoned in Senegal. At first the malformations had been a marvel, hardened skin without horrible discoloration, increased strength and even enhanced vision but very quickly the conditions had begun to deteriorate. Those who hadn't grown ill began to change and were increasingly violent. Several patients had gone on a killing spree before they'd been gunned down by MedCo security. Two weeks after infection, those who had seemingly developed benefits from the experiment became distant mentally. Their flesh then became riddled with horrid boils and sores before finally they succumbed to the drug they'd been given and suffered heart failure.

The experiment had gone so wrong that those at MedCo had put a stop to using the formula altogether and had ordered the city be cleansed which Tony guessed was code for burn it with fire until there was no sign of the pathogen remaining. The notes for Madrid were less grim, but the orders had been the same. Eliminate all signs of the pathogen, the virus that had been used proved too toxic to risk further exposure. It was likely that every person they'd met in that place was long since dead. MedCo was committing genocide and no one seemed to notice.

"Jarvis, I need you to find me a specialist in genetic mutation, preferably with knowledge of viral weaponry and who's trustworthy. Don't contact them yet, not until I know more. I'd prefer to do this work with Banner, but he's been missing for years." Tony allowed his camera on his phone to scan the wall with the experiment notes that were still making Tony's head spin in wonder until he was sure that Jarvis had discernible copies of everything in front of him.

"These are dangerous formulas, sir." Jarvis responded once he'd finished copying the information.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Tony sighed and ran his fingers again through his hair, rubbing his hand down the back of his neck and hanging his head, having to turn his gaze away from the bright yellow lettering on the wall. Even when he closed his eyes he could still see the formulas glowing.

"Sir, there are implications here that are astonishing."

"Jarvis, I looked through them. _I know._" Tony turned to the wall that had the nonsensical ramblings on it and scanned the phone over it the way that he had before. His heart sunk the more he read the writing spread out along it. He'd come to Afghanistan searching for resolution and instead had found more disturbing twists and turns than he ever would've guessed possible.

Scott was a monster. A monster that seemed to have it out for Scarlett.

"You should take a better look at the bottom right corner." Jarvis sounded solemn after he'd had time to translate the ramblings along the wall.

"What is it?" Tony didn't want to read anymore of the craziness, particularly when it came to Scarlett and describing the intimate details of the relationship she'd had with Scott over the years. He'd pried further into her past than he had ever wanted to. But it was too late to turn back and there was no pretending he hadn't done it. Scarlett would hopefully understand that he wasn't trying to get this far into her history with her ex-boyfriend but rather was trying to help her out with MedCo. He wanted her to live a happy life with him without the fear of someone trying to kill her at every turn.

This was never what he had expected to find and he certainly hadn't been hoping for it either.

"Just look." Jarvis didn't seem to want to read the scribbling out loud either, and Tony couldn't blame him for that. So instead, he walked back to the wall and scanned over the information written on the bottom right corner, crouching low and holding his breath.

"Seriously?" Tony pouted momentarily before clearing his throat. "Jarvis, this is really bad."

"I know."

Tony turned his attention back to the information scribbled in front of him. When MedCo had cut Scott off, again Tony presumed it was him, after he'd hired the rebels to kidnap Scarlett and break her spirit, Scott was more than frustrated. There were lines and lines of angry words about the company and their refusal to see the future. They had similar goals but only wanted the strength of a super soldier at the time. Scott had started to experiment on himself along with the help of one of the MedCo doctors who had apparently been aiding him under the table and providing him with drugs.

At first he'd been using samples of Scarlett's blood from her hospital gown for the experiments but when the dried out blood proved useless to him, he had instead performed experiments on himself. Tony still didn't understand the motives behind what he'd done to Scarlett, other than some kind of psychotic break on Scott's part, but he certainly understood what he was trying to do to himself.

Scott wanted to be _stronger_.

He was trying to make himself into a super soldier like Steve Rogers had been transformed into so many years prior during the Second World War. The experiment results weren't in Tony's favor, that's for sure. Obviously Scott wasn't dead so they hadn't gone horribly wrong as he would've hoped like the experiments on the far wall had. But it seemed as though MedCo wasn't as aptly seeking a super soldier serum as they were altering viruses for biological warfare currently. Had the super soldier serum been a wasted effort?

Or worse, had they succeeded? Tony didn't want to know the answer, but he knew it would eventually be a question he had to actively ask and pursue.

"I've never known anyone who has been experimented on and wound up a good guy." Tony grimaced, hanging his head. There were the few and far between who worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. that Tony had only heard about in reports from Nick Fury and whispers from Phil Coulson. There was something about genetic mutation that scared the hell out of him.

"Keep reading." Jarvis urged, sounding more upset than Tony had ever heard from him before.

"Are you dating her or am I dating her? Sometimes I get confused." Tony muttered to ease his nerves as he continued scanning over the information in front of him. His brain seemed to be rejecting getting so much nasty news at once, but Tony knew he couldn't stop simply because he didn't want to continue. It would've been something he did five years ago, and would've ignored the seriousness of, but not now.

"I'm not sure." Jarvis joked in succession, seeming to find the need to break the tension as well, though Tony threw his phone a suspicious glance before looking back to the wall.

"When test subject is obtained, SD, experiments must first be done to rid of willpower." Tony stopped reading aloud when the ramblings continued on to explain how she had a pesky habit of continuing with her "poor behaviors" despite how many steps had been taken to discourage her from such things. Then the same genetic mutation would be performed on her that had been done to Scott but there were far more extensive plans for her. Scott seemed to have high hopes for what he would be able to do with Scarlett considering the brilliance and physical prowess she already displayed without being altered.

She'd already made him a vast and untold wealth, according to the papers that he'd found in the other room. What more could he possibly want from her? Why wasn't she good enough the way she was? Scott had gone mad, that was what Tony knew for certain. The rest of the experiment notes were continued on in what Tony could only describe as the fashion of a madman. If Scott got his hands on Scarlett before she put a stop to MedCo then her life would be over.

Tony would be damned if they hadn't come this far just for her to be murdered while her psychopath of an ex tried to experiment on her. This had to be the most complicated first month of a romantic relationship that Tony had ever been through in his life. When Scott's plans for Scarlett continued on along the wall, Tony sat down on top of the old television nearby and held his head in his hands.

His temples were pounding from stress and his face was beat red. He hadn't realized just how tense he'd become while reading the notes. His heart pounded intensely in his ears, and all he could hear was the thump-thumping while his hands shook. The reactor burned, irritating his chest more than he'd become accustomed to.

"Call Scarlett, call her _now_."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea,…"

"I said _call_ her god damnit, did I ask your opinion? Shut up and dial the damn number!" Tony gritted his teeth. The pressure in his head made him want to explode. Immediately the phone began to ring on speaker but after a few rings it went to voicemail. Tony grunted in frustration and sat quietly after the beep had gone off. Should he leave a message? Tony hung up the phone and dialed again manually. Jarvis had stopped objecting after having been yelled at. Somehow the computer understood better what he was going through than Tony himself seemed to.

"Come on baby…" Tony shook his head as the phone rang and he still received no answer. The voice in the back of his head was telling him that it was already too late for him to get in contact with her. When he closed his eyes he saw her strapped to a table while men in scrubs stood around her, injecting her and cutting into her flesh to change the woman she was. Vivid memories of pain in his chest made him cough. Flashes of terrible memories of Yinsen standing over him while cutting into his chest to remove shrapnel and then making enough room to place an electromagnet to keep him alive pulsed through his mind.

Tony jumped up from his spot on the television and stumbled backwards, blinking his eyes open. Why the hell had _that_ happened? Skin dripping with sweat at the terrible transformation of Scarlett's torture to his own horrid experience in the desert, Tony cracked the window of the apartment open and stuck his head out of it to catch his breath. In his panic he'd disconnected the call before it'd reached voicemail but he still had the phone in his trembling hand.

Staring down at the screen with a candid photo Tony had taken of Scarlett upon their first meeting when he'd been spying on her through his security cameras in his lab while she'd been getting changed, Tony wished he had known what he was getting into way back then.

Would he still have made the same choices? Guilt made his stomach churn again and it wasn't long before he was rejecting the curry he'd had for lunch right into the sink of the kitchen. Running water to rinse away the ick he'd vomited up, Tony felt his heart rate finally returning to normal and the sweat on his flesh drying up as quickly as it had come. How long had it been since he'd had a panic attack? Longer than he could recall.

Wiping his hand over his mouth, Tony dialed Scarlett's number again before placing the phone to his ear. Closing his eyes he listened to the endless ringing before hitting her voicemail again.

"Scarlett it's important. Call me back as soon as you can." Tony couldn't think of what else to say. Would it be the last words he left her if she had already been taken? He couldn't think like that. For all he knew, she was just fine and lounging around in South Africa. With what he knew, she didn't seem to keep on top of the battery on her phone so it was possible it had just simply died and she was doing just fine. But why did Tony feel this sense of urgency coursing through him? Considering what he'd just discovered, it was probably still panic. Scarlett was stronger than he gave her credit for. He had to trust that she would stay safe. "I love you." He placed his hand to his forehead. "Just… let me know you're okay." He ended the call and set the phone down on the counter. After moments spent staring at it and biting his lips anxiously, Tony scooped it back up.

"Nope, not enough." Tony shook his head after a second then dialed his assistant. Listening to the ringing, Tony pulled his shirt back on over his head and slipped the jacket over his shoulders. He was still sweating but the jacket was a security blanket of anonymity he couldn't afford to lose. As he walked out of the apartment, leaving the broken door as closed as he could get it, Tony felt his stunted nerves finally relaxing just enough for him to breathe normally.

"It's seven in the morning, Tony." Pepper's shrill voice met him on the other end of the phone, sounding tired.

"Don't you wake up at five for me regularly?" Tony grunted. Immediately Pepper's voice changed as she saw the face of her boss looking pale through the video call.

"It's Thursday. My day off, remember? I only get one a week and even then only when you're out of town since you don't have any concept of…" Pepper shook her head and drifted off, rubbing the exhaustion from her eyes. "What's wrong, Tony? Are you okay? You're pale."

"I need you to do me a favor."

"What happened?" Pepper went ashen, her usually freckly and vibrant skin fading as she considered what could've happened to have shaken her boss who usually had nerves of steel.

"I know you don't like her but can you try and get in touch with Scarlett for me? Not… constantly but maybe just every few hours give her a call? I've got some things I need to do so I can't keep on top of it but… tell her to get somewhere safe if you get in touch with her. And then if you could call me and ease my mind that'd be great. I'll give you her number but try not to give it to anyone else, especially not your friend _Phil._"

"She's a big girl, Tony. She can take care of herself and make her…"

"I don't need this right now, Pepper. Will you or won't you?" Tony snapped at the phone which made Pepper grimace.

"What's going on, Tony?"

"Not now. I need to talk to Coulson about something I found but I don't have time right now so it has to wait." Tony walked away from the apartment complex and back through town toward the hotel that he'd reserved for the night.

"Tony…" Pepper began to scold him but Tony shook his head and looked back at his assistant seriously, making negative noises in objection.

"Don't make me beg, you know how I feel about begging." Tony attempted to joke but there was very little humor in his voice.

"Okay, but you have _so_ much explaining to do when you get the time. You _and_ your girlfriend." Pepper finally offered a smile thought it was strained.

"Thank you." Tony hung up before Pepper could pry any further or make any snide remarks. It was getting late in Afghanistan but Tony had no intentions of returning to his hotel to sleep. No, there were too many things he had left to do. After giving Pepper the number for Scarlett's phone, Tony would suit up and fly back out into the desert to the south. The rebels were going to have a surprise guest in the middle of the night. If Barakat was being honest about wanting to make amends for what he'd done to Scarlett then his chance would be coming soon enough.


	24. The Black Widow

If there was one thing Scarlett had learned after years of sneaking around it was how to detect when someone was sneaking up on _her_. And as she returned to her hotel and retrieved her things, she was more than certain that someone was following her. Over the last week she had developed a pretty intense level of paranoia but _still_ the feeling was the unmistakable. On her way to the airport she'd confirmed her suspicions after making several impromptu stops along the way. This wouldn't keep her from getting out of South Africa. Scarlett couldn't put her finger on it but the whole damn country seemed to make her nervous. The little voice in her head told her it was a combination of anxiety and post traumatic stress, but these were issues Scarlett refused to address. It was easier to keep moving.

Finally she'd arrived at the airport and with only a vague idea of where she would travel to next, Scarlett went out of her way to linger near the ticketing counters in an attempt to draw out the person pursuing her. Whoever had been given the task of shadowing her was more than adept at their job and managed to stay in the shadows thus far. Scarlett wasn't going to make any further plans until the tail had been eliminated. She was guessing that someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. had been sent to keep an eye on her, so the threat seemed minimal.

Checking her phone, Scarlett flicked the screen when it froze for the third time in a row. Had being in the water for so long ended up damaging the delicate machine in the end? It had seemed okay until that morning. She hadn't heard from Jarvis since the night before and considering how attached Tony and his computer had become she was sure that she would've gotten a "just checking in" message at least every few hours. Maybe Tony was just busier than she thought he was.

Or maybe someone was interfering with her phone. Either way, Scarlett wasn't amused. If it was S.H.I.E.L.D. having her tailed and causing electronic interference after her talk with Mickey then they weren't going to be pleased with the outcome. Scarlett looked at the board of flights that would be leaving in the next few hours and considered her route. South Africa was clearly a dead end. There was no longer a need for her to be there unless she planned on going back to find Mickey and give her the information on MedCo that she'd discovered in the shipyard. While that would be happening sometime in the near future, Scarlett had the nagging feeling that there was something more she was meant to do.

But _what?_

The only thing that came to mind was traveling to Istanbul to check out the third and final lead that she'd been given by her former contact. Now that she knew he worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. she didn't think it was a trap set up by MedCo. But considering what she'd discovered outside of Madrid and Dakar, she didn't think there would be anything left to find in Turkey. Considering her history with the country, she didn't think it was worth the risk of traveling there just to find another city in ruins.

The feeling of being watched sent the hair on the back of Scarlett's neck standing on end. Instead of shaking it off she clenched her fists. She'd had enough. Backtracking toward the restrooms, Scarlett ducked quickly into the hallway that was nearly abandoned and waited. Leaning against the wall she held her breath and waited for her tail to follow her, hand on the pistol hidden beneath the jacket she'd picked up in the store at the hotel.

Sure enough, seconds later a woman in a tan leather jacket turned the corner only moments after Scarlett who held her gun aimed directly at her stalker's chest. Before Scarlett could get a good look at the woman, she grabbed the gun and twisted it out of Scarlett's hand artfully. But Scarlett was quick on her feet and grabbed for the woman's wrist, twisted her around and shoved her face first against the wall. The gun fell out of her grasp and clattered onto the floor. Scarlett put her foot down on the weapon and slid it away from her assailant and further into the abandoned hallway.

"Is that any way to greet an old friend?" The woman spoke in a soft sultry voice, her short red hair bouncing annoyingly in Scarlett's face as she turned her head.

"You tell me." Scarlett didn't let the familiar woman out of her grasp. "Why are you following me, Tasha?" Before getting a response, the crafty S.H.I.E.L.D. agent slipped out Scarlett's grasp, dropped low to the ground and slipped away between Scarlett's legs. Scarlett casually pulled her second gun from the holster underneath her jacket and aimed it at Natasha as she stood up with the gun Scarlett had discarded in hand, casually sighing. "Don't pull that spider crap on me. We both know how this fight ends." Natasha didn't look angry. In fact there was nothing but amusement in her blue eyes. Shorter in stature than Scarlett, Natasha Romanoff was a force to be reckoned with and was not to be underestimated.

"You haven't changed much." Natasha finally spoke, flipping the gun around in her hand so that she held the barrel, offering the handle to Scarlett who took it out of her hands with a yank. Scarlett put her guns beneath her jacket again in the safety of their holsters. The last thing she had to worry about was Natasha trying to pull another fast one on her. It didn't mean she wouldn't continue to be on her guard, but guns in an airport were never a good idea. In fact they were a pretty quick way to end up in a foreign prison. Scarlett had only obtained them for protection and planned on discarding them before she went through security.

"Neither have you." Scarlett started around the corner and back into the crowded airport after straightening her jacket. The Black Widow would be less inclined to pick a fight out in the open and Scarlett would be less inclined to reach for her guns again. "Are you going to really make me ask a second time?" Natasha kept in stride with Scarlett but stepped in front of her to stop her walk, hands in the pockets of her jeans.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. sent me to bring you in. Apparently you had some rather _hostile_ negotiations with an agent this morning." Natasha still looked amused, but kept her tone as serious as she could manage.

"Hostile? Oh you mean I _shouldn't_ be angry after finding out that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been manipulating me for quite some time? My mistake, I should've sent Agent Pierce flowers. Not for anything, I gave her the files I stole back. Doesn't that count for anything? No good faith with S.H.I.E.L.D. these days I guess." Scarlett placed a hand on her hip and batted her eyelashes comically.

"I guess that means you're not coming in quietly." Scarlett started to walk around Natasha and up onto the escalator that would take her to the airport gates that were surrounded by several restaurants set up for people waiting for their flights or there to pick someone up.

"Still as smart as ever." Scarlett leaned against the mobile railing, adjusting her backpack that contained the very few belongings she still treasured or hadn't destroyed over the past couple of weeks.

"And you're still as defensive as when we first met." Natasha stepped so she was on the same part of the escalator as Scarlett and turned to face her.

"So what are you going to do, Widow?" Scarlett stepped off of the escalator at the top and turned to face the short but lovely woman who was more than a formidable foe. Natasha stared back at her with a mischievous glint in her grayish blue eyes. "Are you going to _make_ me come in?" Scarlett pursed her lips in a smile almost daring her to try. She was well aware that it would be a feat and a half for Natasha to best her particularly in the setting they were currently in. Airports were a terrible place for stealthy operations. But despite Scarlett's guise of strength and confidence, her lungs were aching again and the cough she'd thought she'd gotten rid of had returned that morning. If Natasha really _did_ want to bring her in, Scarlett wouldn't stand a chance, not in her current condition. Still, Scarlett was pretty good at bluffing. Arrogance couldn't be helped sometimes.

"I know better." Natasha held up a hand defensively and relaxed her stance at last. "Is that the treatment I get after all these years, Scarlett? Aren't you happy to see me?"

"I'd be happier to see you if you didn't have such a nasty left hook."

"It was a _right_ hook, but we had a lot to drink that night so I can't blame you for not remembering properly."

"Maybe it was both for all we know." Scarlett at last chuckled but then sighed heavily. As nice as it was to see a familiar face, she knew it wasn't for pleasure's sake that Natasha had spent the morning following her from the hotel. "If you're not going to drag me kicking and screaming back to daddy then what are you doing here?" Walking toward the railing near the open area of the third floor that looked down toward the ticketing area, Scarlett let her guard down at last and trusted that Natasha would keep to her word.

Reaching into the leather satchel that hung over her shoulder, Natasha withdrew a manila envelope with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s familiar bird shaped symbol on it and held it out to Scarlett who looked at it suspiciously.

"I come with a peace offering." Natasha urged it closer to Scarlett who finally snatched it from the red head's hand, still glaring guardedly at her.

"That's not how S.H.I.E.L.D. operates if I recall."

"You're right. It's how _I_ operate." Scarlett scoffed as Natasha smirked and opened the top of the envelope before giving Natasha another wary glance. The papers inside detailed a facility under investigation by S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives and the familiar letterhead of one Marcia Edmonton was stamped on a few of the papers. MedCo had relocated and this time hadn't covered their tracks as well as they used to. Covering her mouth with her hand to stifle a cough, Scarlett did her best to hide the action but Natasha immediately took note of it and now seemed to be studying her.

"Stop it." Scarlett took her gaze away from the papers inside the envelope and looked back up at Natasha who didn't bother looking away.

"What's there to stop? I'm not doing anything."

"You're thinking about it too hard." Scarlett spoke in a sing song voice before turning her attention back to the classified files. Paper clipped onto a page at the back of the envelope were two airplane tickets to Moscow, Russia with various stops in between since it would be a rather long flight to get there.

"Thinking about _what_ too hard?" Natasha leaned against the railing next to Scarlett but kept studying her.

"Don't play dumb with me, ginger." Scarlett closed the envelope and held it under her arm before looking around at the various restaurants and bars in the airport. She had a few choices to make but the first one was easy. "I could use a drink."

"It's only eleven in the morning." Natasha looked torn between concern and amusement.

"Look, with the week I've had you would be shocked at my restraint when it comes to alcohol. If I don't get a scotch soon, I'm going to get trigger happy and you've already seen how badly things go when I get trigger happy. So do you want a drink or not?"

"You're right. And we just don't have time to clean up that sort of mess." Natasha started after Scarlett who was already on her way into the nearby bar and restaurant that was dimly lit and provide the women with as much anonymity as two attractive women alone in a bar could obtain. "I could use a drink too," She finally admitted.

Once inside the bar the women chose a table in the far corner and both politely ordered their various drinks. Scarlett chose a twelve year old scotch straight up while Natasha picked vodka with cranberry juice.

"You can take the girl out of Russia…" Scarlett didn't look up from the file on the table that she was once again flipping through.

"Have you invested in the whiskey making business yet, Scarlett? Because you missed your calling." Natasha retorted playfully. Scarlett coughed and thanked the waiter as he brought their drinks and rambled on about the day's specials. Her heart was racing and Scarlett suddenly wished she hadn't misplaced the bottle of medicine Tony had provided her with. It had been working so well and now she was relapsing thanks to her inability to properly take care of herself as of late.

"I suppose I should thank you for this." Scarlett tapped her fingers against the envelope. "Though I'm not sure why you're giving it to me." The flight on the tickets left in two hours, so they had time for food and preparation but Scarlett had too much on her mind to immediately decide if it was an opportunity she was going to take. Working with Black Widow had been fun, if nothing else, but she'd already turned down the chance to work with S.H.I.E.L.D. that day. It was almost an insult for them to ask her twice.

Ultimately, Natasha was there under S.H.I.E.L.D. orders, not to protect Scarlett and while they considered each other friends in a weird way, Scarlett had to be on her guard. Just because they were friends, didn't mean they trusted each other, not in the least. Trust had never been in their repertoire. Trust was what got Scarlett into trouble in the first place.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. wants to help you, Scarlett. _I_ want to help you. They would prefer you stay out of the line of fire since you're such a pricy bargaining chip for these clowns." Natasha sipped at her drink but didn't take her eyes off of the brunette across the table. It had been years since they'd seen each other but not much had changed other than Scarlett was thinner and looked worn out and a bit older. She hadn't been wrong with her assumptions; Natasha was observing her for further signs of what her and her superiors had suspected for the past week.

"I thought I made it perfectly clear that I was not interested in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s particular brand of assistance. Or did Mickey have a hard time translating that when she called you?"

"Enlighten me." Natasha leaned back in her chair and folded her arms over her chest. "You know, just in case."

"I'm already being pursued by one nasty company that deals in secrets so having a second one that pretends its benign throwing a wrench in the works isn't what I would exactly describe as ideal. Look, I know you mean well…"

"Don't give me that speech." Natasha leaned on the table and tapped the envelope she'd offered to Scarlett in an attempt to avoid hostility. "It'll be just the two of us. No other operatives, no secrets other than the ones _you're_ keeping and don't pretend you're not. Everything S.H.I.E.L.D. has done for the past month that involves MedCo is in that folder. And the moment I hear more, you will hear it from me."

"Why don't I trust you?" Scarlett hesitated, gritting her teeth. The file she'd taken from Mickey had been twice the size of the one provided by Natasha, so she knew there was more to it.

"Given the circumstances I can't blame you for not trusting anyone." Natasha obviously knew more about the situation than she'd let on.

"Then you understand my skepticism. I work alone. I've trusted too many people in the last year and this is where it has gotten me. Until further notice, this is a solo act."

"It'll be like old times, remember? We had fun back then. It could still be just as fun." Natasha pushed the menu for the restaurant on top of the envelope in front of Scarlett's face. "Pick something to eat, you've lost weight."

"It's been like ten years so you can't really judge. What are you, my mother now? You're not the mothering type, Tasha. Drop the act." Scarlett looked through the menu but her appetite wasn't there and she wasn't going to shove food down her throat just to humor someone who had apparently been spying on her long enough to notice that she'd lost some weight. Of _course_ she'd lost weight! Between being ill, held captive, and the post traumatic stress she was barely admitting existed, Scarlett had very few moments where her appetite existed at all. And when it did, she ate too much and got sick from overeating. It was a vicious cycle but something Scarlett vowed to deal with when she had the proper time to address it.

That was becoming her motto. Deal with it later.

"Just order something." Natasha laughed, but Scarlett could see the scrutiny behind the mask of kindness. When they'd first met years ago they'd been enemies. In China, Scarlett had taken a job from a man who claimed to be the CEO of an electrical empire and was suspicious that someone in his office close to him was stealing plans to sell to the competition. The case had seemed cut and dry and with very little risk to her life or anyone else's so Scarlett had taken it without further question. Her Indian friend had led her to the job back then as he had led her to most of the jobs she'd taken both before and after that.

But when Scarlett arrived at the nuclear reactor to hack into the computer systems to see what important files had been removed, she had been met with resistance in the form of a woman with long red hair dressed in a black cat suit and formidable as ever. The two had fought and while Natasha was far more nimble than Scarlett was in the long run, Scarlett was far more resourceful with technology and her surroundings. Eventually the two women had run out of breath and called a truce. It had been obvious then that they wouldn't get anywhere with physical combat.

They had each been terribly surprised to meet someone else on what should've been an easy mission on both their parts and that the person they had met had actually stood a chance against them. It wasn't often that the two women were met with challenges they couldn't overcome, especially back then. More intrigued by each other than by the money they'd been offered for the job the two had gone out for drinks to congratulate the other on their victory since they had deemed the competition equally matched.

Scarlett had the feeling that Natasha could've killed her if she'd wanted to, but maybe Natasha had been feeling the same way. Either way, starting as enemies the two had become surprisingly fast friends. Neither had asked for much personal information and they owned the bar that night. Most of what happened near the end of their drinking was a blur to Scarlett now after years of too many hangovers and drunken nights, but she did remember waking up the next day with an aching back and double her payment in her pocket.

They'd eventually swapped information on their jobs and what they had been doing in the nuclear reactor during their drinking and realized they'd been double crossed. The man who had hired Scarlett had also hired Natasha and didn't even work for the same electrical company. He was hoping that the women would create a security risk situation within the existing company and ruin their reputation. So at some point the women had decided to work together to go after their employer who worked for a rival corporation instead of completing the job they'd been asked to.

Natasha had gotten them past the guards and dealt with security while Scarlett hacked computers and drained bank accounts. There had never been any retaliation from the man who had hired either of them. That was what he got for hiring two women who were far stronger than he could ever dream of being. But that was the last time Scarlett had seen Natasha and while she'd often thought of her and the adventure they'd shared she hadn't bothered to keep in touch but neither had Black Widow. During the night she was sure some personal information had been exchanged. Alcohol had a tendency to make people gossipy and sentimental. Despite the nature of their business, the assassins weren't above the effects of drinking.

It wasn't in their nature to be sentimental or long for close personal friendships at the time. However, Scarlett knew that if she ever got into trouble the first person she would've called even a year ago would've been Natasha Romanoff. There was no offense meant toward Tony, but Natasha fought the same sort of dirty that Scarlett did. Even now, Scarlett knew she wouldn't have to worry about Natasha's well being if she actually agreed to working with her. Tony was capable of taking care of himself, that he had proved, but that nagging worry about his well being sat permanently in the back of her mind. It wasn't that she didn't care if Natasha got her, she definitely would've been upset, but if Tony got hurt she'd be devastated.

"I'm not hungry." Scarlett pushed the menu back toward Natasha at long last and took an even longer drink from her scotch. Then she opened the file and started spreading out paperwork in front of her. The facility in Russia reminded Scarlett too much of the one that she'd been held in only a month prior in South Africa. Except it was bigger and better guarded than the one in the desert had been. Scarlett guessed that Mikhail likely had some connections there that provided them with some substantial amounts of power and leeway in the country. Natasha was watching her as the waiter returned, continuing to study her like a fly in her web.

"She'll have the chicken and sausage gumbo, same for me." Natasha handed the menus to the waiter and then leaned across the table, placing her hand again on top of the paperwork to stop Scarlett from reading it. "You're obsessing over this."

"You're surprised? Really?" Scarlett sighed and pried Natasha's hand out of her way by her pinkie finger, easily releasing her grip.

"I get it, Scarlett. After what they did to you…"

"Don't start with me. The more you know about this the more irritated I'm going to be that I'm being spied on. The more you reveal the angrier I get." Scarlett warned without turning her eyes away from the paper. Apparently S.H.I.E.L.D. had a man on the inside in the facility, giving them more information than they had ever had on MedCo on prior occasions. Still the information was limited without a higher access level than a security guard. Scarlett would've been the only person who had gotten out alive and had access to anything more than monotonous paperwork.

"This isn't the world we lived in ten years ago, Scarlett. Time has caught up with us both." Natasha put her hand back on top of the paperwork and drew her attention away. "There will be time for you to look at that on the plane. Why not eat something now and catch up with me? We haven't talked in years."

"That's really why you chased me all around the airport this morning? You want to catch up on the personal dirty details?" Scarlett exhaled deeply and ran her fingers through her hair, stifling a cough and then returning to her glass of scotch. At this rate she'd need a second one before the food arrived.

"No, but I think you need to breathe for a few seconds."

"Am I _not_ breathing? I think I'm breathing just fine." Scarlett objected and started to straighten up the paperwork and shove it back into the folder since it was clear Natasha was not going to give her the opportunity to go over it at length.

"Stop being so defensive about everything I say."

"I never thought you'd work for someone like S.H.I.E.L.D., Widow." Scarlett leaned on the table and furrowed her brow. "And I definitely never thought I'd have the urge to kick your ass _again_. Stop treating me like a disobedient child. I don't owe you any favors."

"You're just _hungry_." Natasha tapped the table in front of her again. "As for S.H.I.E.L.D. they're a better organization than you give them credit for. Not everyone who works there is as narrow minded as you would believe. Some of us are there to do some good in this world and to make amends for things we could never make up for on our own. I think you know more about that than you would ever actually admit."

"Are you sure it's not just because Clint works for them?" Scarlett pried, recalling the name from information she'd read up on her friend over the years. Even though they hadn't kept in touch, Scarlett had always made a point to make sure that Natasha hadn't gotten in over her head with something and she assumed that Black Widow did the same for her and now she knew better than ever that with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s help the woman had done _more_ than keep tabs on her.

"And here I thought you didn't want to discuss personal issues." Natasha smirked and shook her head. "I still do my own work on my own time and get into the trouble I want to get into. But when there's trouble that someone of my _very_ unique set of skills can assist with I jump to their aid. The pay is exceptional, the work is interesting and I don't do anything that I'm morally opposed to anymore." Thanking the waiter as he brought their soup and placed it in front of them, Natasha eyed Scarlett suspiciously. "You should really consider taking a position with them when you're ready."

"Oh, _please_." Scarlett rolled her eyes and poked the meat in the soup with the spoon that had been provided. Her stomach churned annoyingly and she set the spoon down. She hadn't been hungry and wasn't going to shove food down her throat just because Natasha had turned into a paranoid mother somewhere along the line. Still she wondered if eating would do anything for her mood.

"I'm serious, Scarlett. They could use someone like you. And with the way things seem to be going for you, you're going to need something… Oh, I don't know, less illegal than what you're used to doing. You can't live a life in the limelight while breaking the law."

"Drop it. You're wasting your breath. I'm not working for S.H.I.E.L.D. The last thing I need is to work with _another_ company that wants to put me in a cage." Scarlett sipped her scotch and averted her eyes to the envelope that she'd shoved the paperwork back into. All she wanted to do was bury herself in information for the next mission so that when she got to Russia she wasn't met with any surprises.

"You need something or you're going to get yourself killed. Our lifespan is short as it is, you're only making it shorter." Natasha nodded, dropping her joking attitude. Scarlett stared at her from across the table. "Ever since Iron Man pulled you out of that wreckage you've been melting down." Scarlett gritted her teeth in annoyance. How many people were spying on her and why couldn't they mind their own business? She hadn't done anything illegal at Tony's or that related in any way to S.H.I.E.L.D. And if Natasha knew about that particular incident then what else did she know about? Scarlett felt betrayed. She felt violated.

"I don't think it's any of your business what I do or how I behave. It's certainly none of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s. I haven't broken any laws… lately. If you're looking to arrest me, then keep digging. I'm sure you'll find _something._ Oh but wait a second, didn't someone erase my entire history a month ago? I'm a free woman."

"Except for the incident where you set a dock on fire the other day." Natasha countered. "Your behavior has been increasingly erratic and everywhere you go you are putting people in danger because MedCo wants _you_. Don't you care what happens in your wake?"

"Your girl gave me this speech earlier, you know, Agent Pierce? Am I supposed to feel some sense of loyalty to you? _Why?_ Because we worked one night together ten years ago and had a good time? Look, I'm going to tell you what I told her. MedCo is going down one way or another. And I'm going to be part of it. Someone has been pulling the strings on my life for the last year and I am _not_ going to stand idly by while you and your corporate overlords clean up _my_ mess and interfere with _my_ life. This is my fight and you don't get to choose who I fight with, how I fight or when I back down, got it?"

"The last _year?_" Natasha looked surprised and Scarlett winced, placing her hand to her forehead. Had she really said year? It hadn't been that long. Or had it? Tony had somehow convinced her that what had happened to her in Afghanistan was related to what was happening with MedCo. Or maybe it was just that the two traumatic situations were blurring together in a mix of anxiety and frustration. "Or the last two months? Because that's what my calendar says."

"That's not the point. Time is of no issue."

"It _is_ the point." Natasha slammed her hand on the table, quieting those around them. Once everyone turned their gaze back to their meals when the realized there was nothing to see, she continued. "You need to see a shrink, Scarlett. They got in your head and trust me I know what it looks like when someone's in there messing with you. I know better than most what this looks like…"

"You have _no_ idea what I'm going through. Don't tell me what you think is going on in my head." Scarlett finished the rest of her glass of scotch and set it down in between them. "Back off." She hissed sternly.

"You're going to get yourself killed and you could be halfway there already. S.H.I.E.L.D. is monitoring your vitals whenever we get the chance, seeing you at airports or in person. You're _sick._ Either you have a pretty nasty case of pneumonia or you're infected with whatever MedCo is dumping into people's water supply." Natasha relaxed and showed genuine concern for the woman across the table. Her eyes were somehow softer and were filled with emotion. "You feel fine because of adrenaline but it's there, crippling you over time. My guess is that it's pneumonia caused by stress. That happens you know. Your immune system gets weakened without sleep and you get sick. You don't take care of yourself because it doesn't seem important and it gets worse. You keep pushing it off because there are bigger things at stake. Then it compounds and you can't breathe. Then you grow weak, you lose weight and then you die."

"I have a cold and a cough but I still don't see what gives you _or_ S.H.I.E.L.D. the right to monitor anything about me. I'm not an agent, I'm not a suspect and it's still none of our business."

"So, it's pneumonia then. You're not worried that it's something more?" Natasha stated outright. Scarlett looked away and furrowed her brow. She hated hearing these things from Natasha because she knew it was the truth. The things Scarlett had been pushing out of her psyche for the last two weeks were being shoved in her face and it was making it harder to breathe. Still, Scarlett took slow deep breaths and remained calm. There wasn't enough scotch in the world to ease her nerves.

"Enough." Scarlett shook her head and picked up her spoon, taking a small bite of the soup in front of her, mostly because it was there and it was a distraction. They sat in silence for a few minutes while Scarlett picked at the soup but just barely while Natasha kept her eyes on the woman she would still consider a friend despite their arguing. As much as she didn't want to have to, she considered bringing Scarlett in forcefully.

"You've been compromised." Natasha spoke cautiously after watching Scarlett for a few more minutes as she picked at her soup, simply as a distraction. Scarlett set down the spoon and leaned back in her chair. Removing her napkin from her lap she considered her situation and then set the cloth down on the table next to her empty scotch glass.

"I know." Scarlett finally spoke as the waiter brought them refills on their drinks. The two blue eyed assassins stared each other down with very little to say on the matter. Natasha seemed to be considering whether or not she would bring Scarlett in while Scarlett was scoping out her avenue of escape.

"As long as you're aware of it. That's the first step." Natasha adjusted in her seat and leaned her elbows on the table, her chin in her hand. If Scarlett knew that what she was doing was a problem eventually she would address it. She had faith in that. Slowly and mischievously a smile spread across her face as she watched Scarlett drink from her second scotch. "So… Tony Stark, huh?"

"Really? You're going to go there?" Scarlett was relieved to be off the topic of her mental stability and onto something she could at least talk about without getting angry but was surprised that Natasha wanted to gossip. She couldn't help but wonder if Natasha was right. Had she really been compromised to the point where her judgment was skewed? And what had she said about pneumonia? Was that really what she had come down with? It still felt like a cold and the fever hadn't come back so Scarlett was going to stick with her story. If it got worse she'd address it and get a chest x-ray.

"How could I _not?_ With how you talked about him ten years ago he was the _last_ person I thought you'd end up with…" Natasha smirked, spinning the straw in her drink. "Weren't you with someone else back then? Some scientist guy? I always thought he wasn't man enough for you, but I didn't want to offend you after giving you a black eye. Tony's much better suited I think…"

"When did you turn into such a nosy school girl?" Scarlett laughed and rolled her eyes. It was strange how their conversation could bounce back and forth. It was a bond she'd only ever had with Natasha. She was one of the first people Scarlett had ever met who hadn't been afraid to be honest with her, even if it was about something that could potentially cause friction between them. Even Tony had struggled with being _completely_ honest with her for fear of how she would react. Though Tony's fear had been a selfish fear. He was more afraid of the repercussions than her reaction.

"Do you not remember? You had way more to drink than I did… That started the comparison actually. When we swapped career stories I compared you to Tony Stark and asked if you'd worked for Stark Industries or considered since you would excel there and make extreme amounts of money." Natasha pointed an accusing finger and Scarlett couldn't hide her amused smile. "You told me that you would rather _burn in hell than work for that scumbag_. And I'm not paraphrasing, those were the actual words. I didn't know as much about him as you did at the time. He was the only scientist I saw that was in the papers so I made myself as familiar as one in my field had to be. You ranted for about… a half an hour about his chauvinistic behavior and the terrible things Stark Industries was responsible for… and how you were absolutely nothing like him and would probably break his jaw if you met him. You certainly didn't break his jaw… but I have heard you've been quite physical with him…"

"Wow you are _terrible_ at this girl talk thing." Scarlett rolled her eyes but let Natasha continue. She was about as close as Scarlett got to having a friend, which when she thought about it was pretty sad considering how much time had passed between the last time they saw each other. When it came down to it, Scarlett had lived a pretty lonely and depressing life before she'd met Tony. It was funny how she was just becoming aware of it now.

"You know, I worked for him for a little while." Natasha continued on, the slightest hint of a smile on the corner of her lips. It was obvious she wanted desperately to tease Scarlett about her new relationship

"Oh, did you now? Tony hadn't mentioned it. But then again I haven't really had the time to ask."

"He probably wouldn't anyway. We didn't get along very well. He was… volatile. I was sent by S.H.I.E.L.D. to keep an eye on him. You know, it's remarkable really… the more I think about it, the more I realize how perfect you two are together."

"Perfect is _not_ the word I'd use. We ended up together in spite of each other, it was definitely far from perfect. It was messy and complicated and it kinda still is. I don't even know what we actually are."

"He was self destructing back then just like you. Sick and couldn't fix it because of that thing in his chest… Palladium poisoning if I recall. Nick Fury had me keep an eye on him in case he did something stupid which you already know from rumor and experience, Tony is very good at doing stupid things."

"So you're comparing what Tony did back then to what I'm doing now. Just… verifying because it's ridiculous." Scarlett scoffed. "I'm going to need more scotch if that's where this conversation is going."

"Fine, fine… but admit it, you two are _very_ similar. Though after how you talked about him in the old days… You were the last person I expected to see end up in his bed."

"Trust me, you are preaching to the choir." Scarlett shook her head. "I thought at first… how screwed up must I be to fall for the one guy that I was positive I truly hated. And yet here we are and it's all very different now. It's… still _very_ confusing and it's not like we've had real time to talk about anything. I've never…" Scarlett drifted off. It was strange trying to talk about it. Relationships were not something she had much experience in and she found herself at a loss. Checking her phone but seeing that it was still on the fritz, refusing to even tell her the time, Scarlett shoved it back in her bag and swallowed the lump in her throat. She then pulled out the ticket to Moscow that had Natasha's name on it and glanced over at the clock. "As much as I'd like to stay and chat about my sex life…"

"You've got to go." Natasha waved to the waiter to get the check and smirked. "You're not letting me come with you, are you?"

"Smart girl, like I said earlier." Scarlett ripped up the ticket and then shoved it back in the folder. "You won't be able to get them to look up the reservation either. I'll make sure of that before you get to the ticketing desk to ask for help."

"You always were a lone gun."

"It's no offense or anything, Tasha. It was fun ten years ago when we were screwing around but… you're just as responsible for the manipulation that S.H.I.E.L.D. has orchestrated in my life for the last few weeks as they are and god knows how much longer it's been going on. I can't trust you."

"I get it. If the tables were turned, I probably would've shot you in the hallway to be honest." Natasha paid the bill and the waiter froze, hearing what she'd said. "It's a turn of phrase. Don't be so suspicious." She waved at the waiter and batted her eyelashes. He smiled and laughed it off then walked away. Men were easily manipulated when it came to pretty girls.

"Well, I've been compromised apparently. Plus guns in airports… with TSA regulations these days I never would've gotten out of the country as quickly as I need to. I have to pick my battles and I like you too much to kill you. It's unfortunate."

"Again, metaphorical." Natasha looked knowingly to the worried waiter who returned with their change. Scarlett scoffed as the man walked away, still looking confused.

"They'll believe anything, won't they?" Scarlett adjusted her bag and started out of the restaurant.

"One more thing, Scarlett." Natasha put her hands in her pockets of her tan jacket and stopped walking before Scarlett could approach the security line.

"What?" Scarlett exhaled deeply, expecting a speech about her safety and health.

"We have a man on the inside. If you need help he'll be there and he can get in touch with me. Hawkeye. No one else will know the name." Scarlett seemed to consider the situation and then nodded her head. If she did get in over her head, she wouldn't hesitate calling for help. Scarlett was stubborn, not stupid.

"Thanks."

"Be safe, okay?" Natasha looked apprehensive to let Scarlett go on her own, but knew there was no stopping the stubborn woman.

"I always am."

"Are you?" Natasha watched her walk away. Scarlett turned a few feet into her walk and faced Natasha again.

"Hey." Scarlett walked slowly backwards. Natasha nodded in recognition. "Clint, huh?"

Natasha rolled her eyes and laughed, turning away from Scarlett who continued through security and toward her gate where she would catch a flight to Dakar, then Spain, then Moscow. After watching her until she was out of sight, Natasha paced back and forth amongst people waiting to meet their loved ones at the gate or killing time before getting through security and catching their flight.

When Scarlett had popped up on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar she'd specifically requested to be put on the case to make sure that her friend didn't get screwed or captured. And when things started to unfold in such a nasty fashion, Natasha had intervened on multiple occasions. Scarlett was in over her head and she didn't want to see her end up in a prison or worse.

So after waiting for confirmation that the plane had taken off, Natasha walked up to the counter and purchased the next available itinerary that would take her to Moscow so she could catch up with Scarlett and keep an eye on her. She'd been down the same self destructive path as her friend before and didn't want to see it be as painful for her as it had been for Natasha.

They'd only spent a day together in the past, but they had made a powerful friendship and an alliance that would prove to mean more to Natasha than following the strict rules that S.H.I.E.L.D. had given her in regards to the woman. Turning off her phone so she wouldn't be bothered by Coulson or Fury, Natasha started through security, ready to keep watch on Scarlett as she had been doing since she'd shown up in Malibu weeks prior.


	25. Death

_[[Hey all the new followers and such, thank you for reading! Hope everyone is doing well and I just wanted to stop and say how much I appreciate you guys taking the time to read and hopefully enjoy! I'm so excited for the future of this series. Though I also wanted to mention... I had an idea for an AU version of Tony and Scarlett, still the Marvel-verse but meeting under different circumstances and I was thinking of making a one-shot out of it! Think anyone would be interested in reading that? I'm probably going to do it anyway lol but still!]]_

To say the flight in the Mark VII from Herat to the South Western mountainous region of Afghanistan was slow was a massive understatement, at least according to Tony Stark. It certainly didn't help that his heart kept racing and his mind kept wandering and over-analyzing the discoveries he'd made. Every so often Jarvis would make him aware that he was suffering from tachycardia likely caused by anxiety. Naturally Tony was well aware of how hard his heart was beating in his chest and the subsequent nerves that compounded because of it. Each time he would promptly alert Jarvis that unless he could do something about it he should shut up and make himself useful trying to either contact Scarlett or track down Scott.

By the time he got to the run down warehouse near the mountainside, Tony was exhausted both physically and mentally. Never before in his life had he wanted a drink more than at that moment. Unfortunately he was sure he wouldn't find sleep even if he the time to lay down and rest. With his heart beating the way it was, he was sure he would never find relaxation even with alcohol. The sooner he got his questions answered then the sooner he could find Scarlett and make sure she was safe and sound.

And then if she _was_ alright he would have a considerably lengthy speech on the importance of keeping her phone charged and functioning especially in what he would call an emergency situation. If they were going to be together, which was also something that needed discussing, then they would have to develop a better system than the guess work and touchy communication system they were currently using. He couldn't give himself a heart attack every time they weren't together.

The impact of the metallic feet of the Iron Man suit sent a cloud of dust flying in each direction and echoed with a resounding thud against the ground. He landed with one knee down and crouched low so that he wouldn't put too much pressure on his knees. Immediately the men he'd encountered earlier came running out of the building at the sight of the currently black and red suit. Tony had triggered the stealth mode to his armor which formed reflective panels that darkened and adapted to his surroundings as he flew through the sky. The last thing he wanted was for someone else to shoot him out of the sky. His Mark VII was worse for wear, currently but it wasn't like he had the free time to sit and do repairs lately. The Mark V was on standby on the plane just in case but it didn't have the same search and find technology. The Mark VII was safer and right now Tony couldn't feel safe enough.

After what he'd discovered in the last forty eight hours he couldn't _possibly_ be too careful. Scarlett had been right to worry about his involvement in her history and it had taken Tony that long to realize it. She was further in over her head than even _she_ thought and that meant Tony was just as deep in the muck next to her. If he had kept his nose out of it the way she'd intended him to then it wouldn't be so bad. But Tony wasn't the kind to live and let die. Not at all. Besides, he had history with MedCo too so he'd had every right to get involved.

Then again, he could've gone through his own channels to try and get justice for the weapons they'd stolen from his company. Instead he'd decided to lay on top of the fire ant nest. In hindsight it wasn't the smartest thing he'd ever done. But pretty women had always clouded his judgment and now this love thing he'd gotten into was doing the same. What lengths would MedCo go to in order to get their hands on Scarlett? Would they target Tony to use against her? Would Scott come after him out of spite? It seemed like something had snapped in her ex-boyfriend's head at some point so it wouldn't exactly surprise him if it happened even out of jealousy.

Doubt and guilt crept through Tony's thoughts even as he prepared himself mentally for the conversation he was about to have with people he'd considered hostile that morning.

Barakat was half asleep but soon was running along with the rest of his men to see what was happening and why Tony had returned. While a few of the men were armed none of them were on their defensive as they had been the last time Tony had showed up. Apparently Tony had built up some sort of trust with them or at least enough that they didn't want to fire at him when he made an appearance. Judging by the look of concern on Barakat's face, Tony wasn't exactly sure that was the case at all. Maybe he had ordered his men not to fire upon him, just to keep the peace.

Barakat was much smarter than he let on during their first meeting. Momentarily Tony considered he was having the wool pulled over his eyes but then shook the thought from his head. Scarlett was _potentially_ in trouble! He didn't have the time, or quite frankly, the energy to be suspicious of every little action. The evening had already been spent over thinking and Tony's brain was too fried to continue doing so.

"Mr. Stark, what is going on? Why have you returned and at such a late hour?" Finally Barakat spoke up when it was made obvious that Tony wasn't going to have the first word.

"I have some more questions. They couldn't wait." Tony flipped the lid of his helmet open and the remainder of it retracted into the neck of the suit. Shaking out his hair, sweaty from nerves, he ran his fingers through it to return it to some semblance of normalcy.

"Alright, we can do that. Come inside? It may be hot during the day but our nights get chilly and I am afraid I am still half asleep and in need of coffee." Barakat nodded his head politely. Tony considered the offer and then quickly nodded to agree. There was no harm in taking refuge indoors though Tony wouldn't call the desert night cold.

"Yeah, I guess we can go inside. But it's sort of a time sensitive matter so I need you to wake up pretty quickly here." Clearing his throat, Tony followed Barakat and his men back inside the warehouse and to the same table that Tony had dented what seemed like ages ago. Someone brought Barakat a steaming cup of coffee and offered one to Tony but he waved his hand and ignored it. The last thing his stomach needed was coffee.

"Now what is so pressing that it could not wait until morning to ask us? You look worried." Barakat scowled, but the kindness Tony had earlier witnessed remained clear in his eyes. Thankfully Tony was still confident that he wasn't being manipulated into thinking these men had turned their lives around.

"Are you still eager to make amends for what you've done to my friend?" Tony chose his words wisely. Barakat seemed just as wary as Tony did and after narrowing his eyes and sizing up Tony's offer he nodded resolutely in confirmation.

"I would do anything within my power to aid you even if it offered me no redemption for what I did to this woman. We have a common goal now, Mr. Stark."

"Good, that's what I wanted to hear." Tony leaned forward and proceeded to fill Barakat in on what he'd discovered after he'd followed the money trail from his hands to the currency exchange near the western border of the country and then to the apartment that had revealed more than its share of disturbing information. Quickly the exhaustion on Barakat's features disappeared and made way for curiosity and eventually horror. Tony described the experiments he'd found notes on at length and shared images from his phone of what he'd discovered. He even showed Barakat the picture of the bloody hospital gown that had once belonged to Scarlett and explained tests that had been done on the blood that remained.

Hand over his mouth, Barakat looked horrified by what he'd been shown but he was also puzzled. What did Tony Stark expect that he could do for him? The treachery of the men who had hired him was far more vicious than he had ever expected it would be. Then again, no one exactly expected the sort of horrid things MedCo was capable of. The answer wasn't clear to the rebel.

"There are untold reports and locations... coordinates that were written on the wall of where tests were done and where water was poisoned. I'm having my computer go through them now and retrieving reports of illnesses around the same areas to see if there's a way to perhaps narrow down the chemical causes of what they're putting into the water and see if anything administered had any effect on the sickness before it either killed those inflicted or dissipated from their system." Tony continued on his train of thought, speaking a mile a minute. His head was spinning with how much information he'd discovered in just the last two days and he felt that if he didn't say it quickly then he might not get it all out. Sometimes being a genius was more stress than people realized.

"We have had many of the same kinds of illnesses here that you describe." Barakat confessed, fear making his voice quaver. "Thankfully none as fatal as those you are describing from Europe and Africa. I knew those men I dealt with were bad news but I had no idea how bad they truly _were_. We... we had suspicions but no confirmation. And quite frankly we did not want to know the whole truth." Hanging his head, he wondered if maybe he had just declined to take Scarlett captive that things could be drastically different for everyone involved. But there was no time to dwell on or regret the past because it couldn't be changed. All they could do was deal with what was in front of them here and now and prevent any further damage from being done.

"I had a feeling that you would know a bit about that. Some of the coordinates were nearby at the manmade river that is being used to fertilize crops for the towns close by." Tony waved his hand and ordered the armored glove to retract so he could use his fingers easily. "If there are people still suffering symptoms I will do what I can to help. I'll stop and take water samples and send them to my friends in the United States. They're doing tests there or rather they _will_ be performing tests soon in hopes of breaking down what these men were actually up to with poisoning the water. I took samples of the same contaminated sources in other parts of the world and hopefully will yield some results in good time. Once we've figure that out we can start working on an antidote or at least a method of treatment to keep people from …you know, croaking." Tony tapped his fingers on the table and then looked back to Barakat.

"I appreciate the help, Mr. Stark but... is this _really_ why you woke us at such a late hour? As much as I have heard about you becoming a charitable man I suspect that there is still much of the old you in there. Plus the worry in your eyes concerns me. You have not slept and there are good reasons outside of finding what was in that apartment. Unless of course you have not told me the whole story and _that_ is what I suspect. Something has hit you very close to home."

"You're a smart man." Tony smiled warily but the facade quickly faded.

"I have been told this many times and I have not disagreed before and won't start now."

"I have some questions to ask you about the men you met with. I know you told me that they were shadowy men and you did not get their names but I wonder... if you could give me more information on them."

"What kind of information is it you seek?"

"If you saw this first man again, would you recognize him?"

"Without a doubt." Barakat smiled resolutely. "We have caught glimpses of him multiple times in our area. But he never gave us a name to call him by. I tried to get one from him but he never answered when I asked. And later it didn't matter because I got the money I was promised at least in the beginning before he broke our deal and double crossed us. Back then it didn't matter who I dealt with as long as the reward was worth the risk."

"You said earlier that you couldn't describe him because he kept to the shadows... presumably keeping you from identifying him."

"No offense, Mr. Stark but all you white folks look the same to us. He was about as tall as you but skinnier. Blond hair, bluish-gray eyes... glasses if I recall but that is about all I can give you and I'm afraid that Mr. Leonardo DiCaprio fits that description pretty well and I doubt that you can go and confront him about it."

"Well you're right about part of that at least, it's definitely not Leonardo DiCaprio." Tony cocked a curious eyebrow, partially amused by Barakat's rather hilarious description of the perpetrator. Still, there was this feeling in the pit of Tony's stomach that the man who had owned the apartment, the man responsible for all of Scarlett's suffering and involvement with MedCo was her ex-boyfriend. A man who had claimed to love her even in his manic scribbling on the wall of his apartment. Scott seemed to have mixed up control and love as one in the same. That part of the story and the subsequent panic attack Tony had suffered had been kept out of the story while he'd told it to Barakat. The last thing Tony wanted was to reveal more about Scarlett than these men already knew.

For all Tony knew, their supposed new lease on life would expire in a few years and then they'd come after her again for more money. It was irrational but so was much of what had _actually_ transpired in the last year from what he'd learned. Tony was beginning to think that he had to be prepared for the rational and irrational alike. How had Scarlett lived this kind of life for so long?

"I can tell you what I know about him but it is very little other than what I have already shared. We called him Death after the first meeting... it was a joke at first but it very quickly became a truth about him. Whenever he visited... death seemed to follow. We had joked about it since he was so thin and without the shadows wasn't very menacing. He very quickly made us realize we were wrong in our assumptions."

"What do you mean?" Tony didn't understand, but he was grateful to have something to focus on besides the manic thoughts in his head. What he wouldn't do for some valium right now to ease his nerves. Or scotch. Or scotch _and_ valium. "Why did you call him Death? I know you mentioned that they had done things to the water, but this man... specifically. What did he do to deserve such a name from men willing to torture for a price?"

"It was not just here in our home town, the contamination and illness spread but the only thing that remained consistent was that someone saw _him_. Eventually we put the pieces together and... changed his name from Death to the Nightmare. People grew sick after he arrived initially. Even a few of _my_ men became ill, but they have since recovered." Barakat gestured behind him toward two of the men who were watching with baited breath. "It was a sudden illness unlike any I'd ever had experience with in the past. Since those employed at the nearest hospital were none too fond of us they offered us no medical assistance. In fact, they wouldn't even let us in the door unless we forced our way through. They still will not after what happened with your friend."

"I can't rightly blame them. No offense or anything but I wouldn't let you into my house either knowing what you've done."

"None taken, I would think you were out of your mind if you thought any other way. I told you, we were bad men and did bad things and now we must live with the consequences of our actions. I will hold this albatross around my neck until I drown or starve." Tony was impressed by the philosophical reference.

"What else did this man do to deserve those names? You said there was more."

"People went missing… from the town and we were blamed for it. They drove us out shortly after your friend had gotten away. They held us responsible for bringing Death to them and delivering destruction upon their heads. We cannot blame them for that either. It is partially true."

"It's _completely_ true. You made a deal with the devil for some chump change and now you're paying the ultimate price." Barakat clenched his teeth but responded as he looked away, afraid to make eye contact with Tony or anyone for that matter.

"You are not wrong. These people went missing and sometimes we would find them washed up on the river, covered in incisions... It was surgical in nature or at least that is what we would have guessed. If we had known what we were getting into with these men then we wouldn't have made a deal at all. The first man was a coward for hiding his face but we saw him nonetheless. I would not be able to paint a portrait for you but I would most certainly be able to point him out if I saw him again."

"You really think so? If I showed you a picture you could point him out?"

"While I would recognize the man with the Russian accent easier, I am confident that between me and my men we would be able to reveal the identity of this man you speak of." Tony was apprehensive to share the photo that he'd found of Scarlett and Scott in the apartment. If he was right about his assumptions then he was about to hit the point of no return. He would officially be responsible for telling Scarlett about the nasty involvement Scott had in her suffering and the consequent fall out.

"One more question. Does he still come around?"

"No." Barakat straightened his back and sat proudly in his spot. "We eventually... my men including the villages nearby, treated him like the Egyptian plagues. When there was even rumor of him nearby everyone would lock their doors and barricade their windows. It seemed like the only way to avoid being taken or infected with something worse than death. Every time he showed up, even after our deal was broken, something terrible happened. Eventually we decided that he must be treated as we would treat any other enemy. I gave orders to shoot on sight. I'm afraid that's why my men acted so defensively when they saw you flying in overhead."

"I can't say I blame you for that knowing what I know now. I'd probably shoot at me too if I saw me coming after what you've been through."

"We have been trying to communicate with other groups like ours... Not as unsavory as you may think. But this man... this _Death_ must be as widespread as you suspect he is. I know of others who would be willing to help and offer you information if you would so please." Barakat bowed his head politely. The exhaustion he'd shown earlier had faded entirely. Tony had put them through the ringer when he'd attacked them and he'd only now considered the physical toll it must have taken to battle against Iron Man. While it had been tiring for him too, it didn't take him nearly as much energy as it would've taken them.

"I'm going to show you a picture." Tony exhaled deeply and again flipped through his phone. He zoomed in on the image to crop Scarlett out of it as much as he possibly could. The last thing he wanted was for Barakat to make the same connections Tony had made. Then again, why did he care if Barakat and his men knew or not? They had made a deal with the devil, as he had said earlier. Perhaps they should know the lengths of the devil's treachery. After all, why should Tony spare _them_ any guilt when he was riddled with it? So instead of staying zoomed in, Tony pulled the picture back into full focus and showed it to Barakat.

"That is the man." Immediately he spoke and with such sincerity and confidence that Tony didn't doubt it for a second. Tony got up from where he was seated and paced, leaving his phone on the table. "Wait a second... _wait_." Barakat recognized Scarlett next, his eyes being drawn to the beautiful woman in the picture next but Tony wasn't listening anymore. Scooping up his phone after he'd taken several long and slow deep breaths purposely to get his heart rate to calm down he dialed her number again and listened, hoping that she would at least answer or he would have gotten a text message of any kind.

"I need you to pick up the damn phone. What's the point of having the thing if you never answer it?" Tony gritted his teeth and then hung up the phone before instantly dialing her number again. Maybe she was still traveling? But she hadn't responded in a long time now. She'd have to be flying halfway around the world to have been gone for that long. It was possible but Tony was too scared to take that risk.

"That woman in that picture." When he realized he was being ignored, Barakat got up from his seat and walked in front of Tony to get his attention. Still, the billionaire ignored him and continued to dial her number on his phone. "That's _the_ woman. That's the one you came and asked me about. The one I hurt."

"Yeah, it is." Tony nodded his head before turning his attention away from Barakat again. "Jarvis, I need you track the GPS signal again okay? Is she still in Cape Town?"

"There was an update at the airport sir but I think something is wrong with her phone."

"Why do you think that?" Tony grimaced, his face turning pale as he considered the three thousand things that could've gone wrong that would make her phone malfunction. Was someone messing with her? Or had technology simply failed? If it had failed then why didn't Scarlett fix it? He knew someone with her skills would be able to easily find the flaw in the machinery and repair it. But maybe she hadn't deemed it important enough to address yet, particularly if she was catching a flight somewhere. Every possibility frustrated him.

"Is Death someone close to her? Someone who loved her? Like you?"

"Not now." Tony gritted his teeth and typed into his phone so Barakat wouldn't see what he was trying to do.

"Why would someone so close to her want to do those things to her? Why would she trust him? They look happy there. And yet if he's the one I met with then he wanted her to suffer."

"Yeah, well sometimes... actually on _most_ occasions we are the most hurt by the people who are close to us. Every nasty little thing like this... usually leads back to someone you know. Who else would know you well enough to want to cause such anguish? When I was taken, it was someone close to me too. But I never would've suspected it because when you're not a fucking _madman_ then you don't suspect your friends are sociopaths." Tony groaned and then continued to type into Jarvis.

He was giving orders for the computer to check flight itineraries out of Cape Town and to search for Scarlett on the security camera feeds if he had to. One way or another, Tony was going to find where the hell Scarlett went and get in contact with her. He had to find her before Scott did and if it meant breaking the law to do it then he was more than willing. What were they going to do? _Arrest_ him? Tony had enough money to keep him out of virtually any _legal_ prison. If he could at least catch sight of Scarlett on a video camera of some kind then he could track her progress from airport to airport and know that she was safe, if nothing else. Somehow, one way or another, he would get in touch with her.

Even if it meant he had to involve S.H.I.E.L.D. and contact Phil Coulson then he would do it. He knew that S.H.I.E.L.D. was pursuing Scarlett because of her involvement with MedCo and that there would likely be some consequences for having avoided them for so long and possible past incidents that had involved his secret agent girlfriend, but it would be worth it to know that she was safe. Just how many terms of their relationship was Tony willing to violate in order to keep her out of harm's way? He could only hope that she would be touched by his determination and not angry that he'd overstepped his boundaries. She would understand that he was just worried _wouldn't_ she? He knew that if it was Pepper she would've screamed at him and called him selfish for not consulting her first. That was why they didn't work together. Tony operated on a different level than his assistant and she needed a more down to earth boyfriend.

But Scarlett was very different than any of his previous lovers, and he could only hope that she would understand. Letting Jarvis do his work, Tony was surprised when Barakat grabbed onto his wrist and glared at him seriously. Behind his cold eyes he could see guilt staring out at him. Tony showing him the full picture of the man they called death and the woman they had tortured for weeks had the desired effect. Barakat was realizing just how manipulated he'd been.

"This man used me as a _tool_ to torture a woman he was _this_ happy with?"

"I already told you. The people closest to us often inflict the worst wounds. But this guy… he's sick, something is _really_ off about this guy. And I don't mean like... regular just screwed up asshole like you guys or me for that matter... I mean like serial killer Son of Sam crazy." It occurred to him that Barakat likely had no knowledge of the American serial killer. And it was made evident that he'd assumed correctly because the reference was lost on the middle aged Afghani. "Crazy guy, his neighbor's dog told him to kill people because he thought he was possessed by some demon... It was... anyway, it _doesn't_ matter. I just meant it was the bad kind of should-be-locked-up sort of crazy."

"I understand." Barakat turned away and rested his hand on his forehead, absorbing what he'd just learned. Now he knew how Tony had felt for the last few hours. "What can I do to make amends Mr. Stark? Tell me and I will do it. We will help you and we will help _her_."

"She wouldn't want your help." Tony felt his phone buzz and immediately read the message Jarvis had left for him. Sure enough, as Tony had suspected, she'd shown up at the airport in South Africa on their security video feed. She was going through security and traveling somewhere, though he had no idea where yet. It was hard to make out much on the fuzzy picture but she looked well enough and there was no one with her that made him think she was being kidnapped or taken under duress. She was traveling on her own with the same backpack that he'd seen her with on many occasions.

He was relieved to say the very least and exhaled, leaning his head back and taking slow deep breaths. Finally the death grip on his chest released and he was able to breathe easy for the time being. He still had to get in touch with her and had to tell her what he'd uncovered about Scott. There was no doubt about it now, it had to be done. The man that she'd shared her life with for years had been responsible for the suffering she'd undergone in the last year. How many times had he suspected this? How long had he been wondering? At least, as petty as it was, he had a legitimate reason to be nasty when it came to the topic.

It was paltry, but comforted Tony nonetheless.

"You asked if I wanted to make amends. Was that just you trying to get answers from me? Or did you _really_ want my help?"  
"I did and still do want your help but right now I _need_ you to be quiet. I've only got ten thousand things on my mind right now and I'm a little sleep deprived so you'll have to excuse me if I'm not as good at multitasking as I usually am." Now that Tony knew that Scarlett was at least safe, or had been a few hours ago, he could feel the weariness settling into his bones.

"It's alright. That picture shook me, so I'm on edge as well. I did not mean to sound defensive."

"Yeah, well you needed to know what you did and why it was done." Tony shook his head. There was absolutely no sympathy left within him for these men who had tortured Scarlett and likely others before her. There was no way he could believe that they hadn't had experience in the ways of pain to have known how to hurt her to the extent that they had. What else had they lied about? They likely didn't want to make Tony any angrier than he had already been when he'd first arrived. While he had at first considered that he was outnumbered, he realized that Barakat was right. If Tony wanted to he could've killed them all right there in the blink of an eye thanks to his technology.

But that wasn't what Scarlett wanted. If she had wanted them dead then she would've already returned and taken vengeance for what had been done to her. There was a very slim chance that she was afraid to return to the scene of her torture but Tony had the feeling that in an attempt to recover, she'd decided to steer clear of it and take the high road. Instead of seeking vengeance or thirsting for blood or even answers, Scarlett had been grateful to be saved by the people who were possibly related to these terrible thugs in one way or another.

She had given back instead of taking her revenge. Hadn't he accused her at some point of being a vengeful mercenary after MedCo's blood? They'd fought about it a few times now that he thought about it and the guilt that he'd once felt returned miserably. She wasn't out for MedCo's blood. All she wanted was not to be held prisoner by someone else. It was why she refused S.H.I.E.L.D.'s help and why she was going after MedCo. They would never let her live a life in peace. In a way it was almost a worse torture than being held by the men in that warehouse along the mountainside.

At least the threat there had been tangible and in front of her. She could analyze it and try to find a way out. It was how he had coped with his _own_ torture and kidnapping. He'd been able to concentrate on his escape and had done so. Scarlett had done the same. But now the threat of someone constantly lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike and never knowing when, where or how? That was truly haunting. It was a torture that she couldn't analyze her way out of. Maybe that was why she was having nightmares. But Tony wasn't a shrink, not in the slightest, so what the hell did he know? He _did_ know that he was over thinking it like crazy, that was for sure.

"Sir, I was able to track her on the security footage to her gate at the airport. You aren't responding to my texts so I've taken the liberty to speak." Jarvis called from his phone. All eyes in the room turned to the remarkable machinery in Tony's hand.

"Yeah..." Tony cleared his throat and nodded his head. "Go ahead Jarvis, bare bones details okay? We've got company."

"I see that, sir and will take caution."

"Who is that?" Barakat pointed to the phone, amazed. While he'd seen the image of Scarlett and Scott on the screen earlier, he hadn't taken a good look at the remarkable machine of Tony's own making.

"...oh uh, yeah that's my computer. He's helping me out." Tony shrugged. It was easy to forget that not everyone was used to having a computerized personal assistant to do their dirty work after he'd gotten so used to having Jarvis as his right hand man.

"Your _computer_? A _he?_"

"Yeah, it's a long story. His name is Jarvis... smart guy, helpful. A little too charming sometimes though, _apparently._" Tony cleared his throat and then pointed to his phone. "You don't mind right? We were sorta having a conversation."

"By all means." Barakat took his seat at the table again, and then spoke in his native tongue to those around him, asking clearly for more coffee. Tony didn't have to speak their language to understand that tone.

"Where is she going, Jarvis? She's safe right?"

"She caught a layover in Dakar earlier today. The final destination judging by what I was able to decipher from the video footage I've obtained seems to be Moscow. Should I continue trying to call her?" The computer spoke cautiously. He didn't want to reveal any personal information to the men in the warehouse. They'd already known Scarlett more intimately than they'd ever needed to, he didn't need to compound things.

"Well don't waste battery power trying to call her while she's on the plane. Call her in between flights and then let me know when she lands in Moscow and I'll make the calls myself." Tony sighed with relief. What was in Russia that would interest Scarlett? Had she found another lead to follow on MedCo and gone there on her own? It wasn't like he'd let her know what he was up to so he shouldn't have been surprised that she was continuing on with her relentless pursuit of the men who had thrown a wrench in her life

"I will keep you up to date, sir."

"Thanks, Jarvis. Contact the Russians and make them aware that I'm flying through. And then if you can, could you get in touch with Rhodes and update him on what's going on? We might need some backup, if you know what I mean. Have the jet meet us at the airport, it's faster for me to use the suit."

"Of course, you are a master of the subtle arts, sir."

"I see you're feeling better, too."

"Considerably." Tony shook his head and then hid his phone once again inside of the Mark VII armor. Once he got to Russia he would get in touch with Scarlett and then hopefully be able to catch a cat nap there when he had her safe in his arms. Or sleep for a whole day, that sounded lovely. Or better yet, he could sleep a whole week! If he knew Scarlett was okay then it wouldn't matter how long he slept. But until then he was going to be wired on adrenaline.

"Russia?" Barakat finally spoke up once he realized the conversation with the inanimate object had ended. It was obviously a foreign concept to the rebel.

"Don't look at me like that. People talk to their phones all the time."

"They don't usually talk back unless there is a person on the other end of the line."

"Well, I'm not like everybody else." Tony nodded resolutely.

"That you are not. So you are going to Russia then? After her? To protect her." The Afghani was eager to get off of the topic of Tony's advanced technology. It was almost comical how uncomfortable it made him.

"Yeah, that's the plan. I'm afraid there's not much more you can do to help but... at least you're trying to do the right thing." Tony triggered the helmet on his Mark VII and saw instantly in front of him the flight plan to Russia and the approval from their military for him to travel through their airspace without being shot at.

"Wait, Mr. Stark!" Barakat stepped in front of the formidable Iron Man suit and held up his hands.

"Let us help!"

"It's a little far for you guys to travel and no offense but I'm not going to use my private jet to bring everyone there."

"No, that's not what I meant. I told you that we are in communication with other groups similar to ours in attempts to combat these men who come in the night to steal our friends and family and poison our water, didn't I?"

"I vaguely recall that from a few minutes ago, yeah." Tony popped the front of his helmet open impatiently.

"Near Moscow there is a group of men and women who are working together to put a stop to these people. I didn't think the violence was related because it is much more intense on the Siberian side of Russia. But there is a chance that it is anyway. And they might have information for you and assistance if you need it." Barakat snapped his fingers toward one of his men standing nearby and was brought a phone. Quickly he dialed a number and then walked away from Tony and spoke quietly.

"Jarvis are you getting this?"

"Every word." The computer scanned the room for the phone signal and recorded the conversation just in case.

"I will give you their contact information. The man you're looking for was once hired by this company that is causing trouble in Russia. I didn't think they were related but he seems to think differently. If you decide that you need their help or want more information from their leader then you can contact them at any time." Barakat scribbled on a piece of paper the number and information for the group.

"No names or anything?"

"Never. It is not safe in this part of the world, Mr. Stark."

"I got it." Tony nodded his head. "Barakat?" The weary rebel turned his head back to face Tony who smiled sympathetically.

"Yes?"

"Thank you." With a loud clank the helmet of the Iron Man weapon snapped shut and covered Tony's face. "Jarvis, keep me updated on Scarlett and watch for anything suspicious. Trace the call he just made and give me all the information you can get on this man who used to work for MedCo." Without another word to the rebels in the warehouse, Tony marched out the door and urged the Mark VII into the air. With any luck, Tony would never have to return to Afghanistan or see any of those men again.

But luck had never really been on Tony's side.


	26. The Color of Betrayal is Blood Red

_[[I know I do this a lot, but thank you those who still read and comment. You're the best, seriously. And thanks for the input last week, I will definitely be working on that AU story this summer but Iron Clad will still continue, the next story is called Across the Universe!]]_

During one of the layovers on Scarlett's way Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow Scarlett had discovered that her phone was horribly malfunctioning as she suspected it had been before boarding her plane in South Africa. She had been both annoyed _and_ grateful to discover that it had caused a problem for her.

On one hand, she was incredibly _annoyed_ because she was sure that it meant she had to have missed messages from Tony all day long and he was likely fretting over her safety wherever he was. Not that he'd bother to tell her _where_ he'd gone or anything but she had decided it was better not to ask and just to let him do whatever it was he felt he needed to do. As long as he checked in with her every so often that was.

She could only hope he was out of harm's way doing whatever he was doing. It was still peculiar to care about someone the way that she did. In a sense, it was almost as annoying as her phone being broken. She was worried about Tony and he crept into her thoughts at the weirdest time. But since she was so used to not caring about anything except for her job and the task at hand, it often flustered her and left her confused and unsure of how to deal with it.

At the same time Scarlett was grateful the phone had broken because it gave her something to occupy her mind outside of the files that Natasha had given her over lunch and wondering what the hell Tony was doing. By the time she'd gotten onto the second plane she'd already been over the files ten times and had absorbed their information as much as she thought she could. Later she would look them over one more time before hiding them away and continuing with her mission in Russia.

Sleep was an elusive beast once more and proved impossible on any stretch of the flight which was a shame because Scarlett was pretty tired.

Her mind was a whirlwind of information and more than usual at that. What Natasha had warned her of had _actually_ gotten to her, against her better judgment of course. Could she really be walking straight into the lion's mouth? Not if Natasha had anything to say about it and she was _sure_ that the assassin had waited only as long as necessary before catching a flight that would get her to Russia soon after Scarlett so she could continue to shadow her. Scarlett was nowhere near naïve enough to think that S.H.I.E.L.D. would back off simply because she _told_ them to.

Besides that, she knew Natasha well enough to realize that the bad ass assassin wouldn't back down because Scarlett didn't want her to get involved. She fully anticipated running into Natasha at some point in the next few days, particularly if things went wrong. In a strange way, Scarlett was grateful for this though she would never openly admit it without heavy amounts of sarcasm to mask her true feelings. Thankfully, working on her phone to repair the damage done would help distract her mind from her wayward thoughts on the second flight. After purchasing a second phone in the airport terminal in Dakar to use for spare parts, Scarlett went to work.

By the time Scarlett's flight landed in Moscow she had a cell phone she was confident would work, though she wasn't sure the text messages and missed calls would be recovered without tapping properly into the network she was using. She decided there would be time for that after she was done dealing with MedCo. After she touched base in Moscow, got a hotel room to store her things and got changed, Scarlett would send Tony a message to let him know that she was sorry she'd disappeared for the day and hoped she didn't cause him any upset.

If he was out of his mind with worry, which Scarlett somehow doubted was possible for the notoriously self absorbed billionaire, she would go out of her way to make up for it later.

It was late in Moscow when she left the airport and soon enough it would be very early. With a hotel room acquired, Scarlett got changed into the customary black outfit that made her look like a woman on a mission since it was, at long last, time for that look. Not that she had anything else to wear besides the dress that she'd purchased in Cape Town at the hotel _anyway_. But still, Scarlett was ready to get back to her roots and break into the extensive facility that had been set up in Russia, about thirty miles outside of Moscow on an extensive stretch of land. If nothing else, MedCo had always been careful enough to isolate their facilities from the public when necessary.

She was positive after looking at the files that the facility was akin to the one she'd been held captive in during her short stint of employment for MedCo. According to the paperwork she'd been provided with there was a substantial amount of medical personnel on staff and after seeing what she'd seen in Dakar and Madrid Scarlett wasn't surprised. Would there be more monsters like Erick hiding there? If that were the case, she wouldn't stand a chance. Abandoning her backpack, notebooks and anything else that wasn't important Scarlett left her hotel room locked up after triggering the device that would give anyone trying to steal her things a nice hefty shock.

The experimental monster that was Erick's reanimated corpse had hopefully died when she set the ship on fire. In her mind's eye she saw the many crates that had been stored in there and wondered if they _too_ were filled with monsters. With any luck the whole damn ship had been destroyed and consequently any ungodly experiments that were left on that ship. Unfortunately Scarlett knew that she didn't have that kind of luck, at least not lately.

If she had to she'd contact Clint Barton also known as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Hawkeye, the so-called man on the inside, but Scarlett wasn't counting on having to do that. She would be on her best behavior once weapons were obtained since hers were ditched at the airport before going through security. Well, every weapon minus her Tesla glove, security had no idea what it was and she didn't plan on letting them ever find out. After years of sneaking around from job to job she'd learned how to properly conceal weapons when necessary and she'd discovered that the only weapons worth concealing were the irreplaceable kind, such as her glove.

After she'd repaired her phone she had sat planning in her little notebook enhancements she wished to make to the glove including a built in communication device. She'd almost used the remaining pieces of the extra phone to try and build one then and there but it would've been too hard to conceal on the plane from other passengers. It was one thing to have the back of her cell phone pulled open, it was another thing entirely for her to have a strange looking glove with the potential for explosive capabilities laying on her tray table.

Scarlett would kill for a vacation right about now, not that she'd ever necessarily wanted one before.

Worn out was not the right term for what she was. No, she had far exceeded being "worn out". Natasha was right, something was still wrong with her and the more she pondered over what had been brought to her attention the more she considered she could very well have some form of pneumonia. That wasn't good. Pneumonia wouldn't go away on its own. When she let her mind wander she became concerned that she was actually sick from some experiments that had been done on her or from contamination after being at one of the ruined cities earlier in the week. As rational as her mind usually was, it was impossible to stave off thoughts of being experimented on entirely. Just because she was rational didn't mean she was fearless.

Right now, Scarlett was praying for pneumonia.

Coughing as if on cue Scarlett continued her love affair with Ricola cough drops as she took several buses across Moscow. She soon stopped to eat something small since the nagging voice of the Black Widow in the back of her head reminded her that food was necessary to continue living. She _had_ lost weight and a considerable amount of that weight lost had been muscle mass and not fat. When she was free of this burden of MedCo, she would have to work hard to regain her strength.

But for now, Scarlett had a plan and with any luck she'd be able to close this chapter of her life once and for all without ending hers. At least that's what she was hoping for. Seated again on a bus after having finished a small breakfast, nursing the coffee that had become one with her blood in recent days, she watched the cityscape of Moscow disappear from view. It was a beautiful city when she wasn't creeping around the unsavory ends of it. Some of her favorite memories had been in that very same city, but there was no time for reflection.

Readjusting the black jacket she wore, she zipped the collar all the way up to her neck and straightened it afterward. Compared to the weather in South Africa and Spain, Russian summers were a breeze. Granted it was a bit humid but it didn't get much higher than thirty degrees Celsius and that was something Scarlett could deal with easily enough. Plus there was a nice cloud cover rolling in from the east that would help keep the heat down.

The more covered up Scarlett could remain the easier her job would be. While she'd stopped for food she'd also stopped to replace the handguns she'd discarded in South Africa along with a few other handy weapons that she kept strapped in her boot and inside of her sleeve. Guns were obvious to those looking for them and Scarlett liked to almost always carry something a little more personal around with her if she could. Lately she'd been neglecting it but, she didn't have access to the arsenal of weaponry she had once had. Scarlett was severing ties with her old life left and right and it was leaving a void… of machinery and weaponry mostly. It had come to her attention that Scarlett had made nearly no personal connections in the last ten years outside of Scott, Natasha, and the Indian man. Since those relationships had all been hopelessly destroyed, Scarlett didn't have to worry about anyone else popping out of the woodwork.

But the loss of fancy weaponry was something she could rectify after the final tie had been severed. Scarlett got off the bus again at a small stop on the outskirts of a suburb outside of Moscow. There was no one around at least that she could see and it was a little unsettling. The sun had risen in the sky and there should have at least been some kids coming out to greet the day. Instead, there was no one. It didn't exactly look like the best neighborhood anyway, now that she studied it a bit closer. Not that Scarlett was afraid of bad neighborhoods, she could more than take care of herself in a dark alley and was often the predator in those situations. But something didn't sit right with her and it made her stomach churn.

It very well could've been the sketchy coffee she'd purchased from a Russian street vendor combined with the thirty or so Ricolas she'd consumed but she had the feeling it was something far more sinister. Part of Scarlett's old life had been to trust her instincts and while they had failed her on multiple occasions in the past month she was hoping that they would hold true at least until she'd finished with MedCo.

If her instincts weren't leading her astray then what was _wrong _with this place? As the next bus she meant to catch in order to get to the other side of her final destination pulled up, Scarlett decided to skip it and take a closer look around. Something was terribly amiss and she was going to get to the bottom of it before she ran headfirst into the lion's den covered in bait. Waving to the bus driver to let him know she wasn't going to catch this one, she watched the bus roll away, plumes of smoke coming from the exhaust pipe behind it as it drove out of sight.

"_Scarlett?_ Is that you?" A familiar voice, one that Scarlett hadn't expected to hear anytime soon, made her stiffen up. Hair stood up on the back of her neck and goose bumps prickled along her arms, giving her the chills and making her nervous. It should've been a voice she was relieved to hear but instead it left her feeling uneasy and almost a little sick. The biggest question on the forefront of her mind was: what the hell was Scott Aaronson doing in a large Russian suburb at the same bus stop that she'd ended up at? The odds were impeccable and as she did the math quickly in her head she realized it was nearly impossible.

Turning to face her ex-boyfriend she could see a smile on his face and relief in his eyes. There were even tears brimming on the edges of them but Scarlett was still suspicious. As he came to hug her she hesitated but then returned the gesture. Much to her surprise he nearly lifted her off the ground and buried his face against her shoulder, almost sobbing with happiness to see her. Scott had definitely changed since the last time she'd seen him which had been in a MedCo security video strapped to a chair with a black bag over his head.

How had he changed?

There were the obvious things such as the way he'd bulked up in just a month and then of course his hair was shorter and less perfectly kept together. His glasses were gone and somehow his eyes seemed duller than they once had. These things could all be explained away of course, but Scarlett didn't think it was that simple. She could hear Tony in her head, warning her that he was up to no good. Could it be that her new boyfriend's insane irrational jealousy of her ex-boyfriend who she'd long suspected dead wasn't so irrational after all? Just thinking that made her head hurt.

Hesitantly Scarlett returned the hug and decided that even if something unsavory was going on underneath the surface of Scott's miraculous and very sudden reappearance, she would have to act like nothing was amiss at all until she'd uncovered the truth.

"Wow, you were the last person I expected to run into in this neck of the woods." Scarlett finally managed to collect her thoughts and offered a legitimate smile. Scott clasped his hands on her shoulders and looked at her with that same look she'd once thought was love but now thought was something else. He was happy to see her, but something was off in his loving gaze. What was it? Scarlett was surprised she'd never noticed it before but it wasn't like she'd ever been a very good girlfriend back during their relationship so maybe she'd overlooked it. She'd had too many other things to pay attention to, like work, work, and more work. Scarlett had been the _not_ so stereotypical workaholic girlfriend.

"What are the odds?"

"Astronomical, actually." Scarlett scoffed and Scott pulled his hands away but smiled.

"You would be the one to figure them out before returning my hug, wouldn't you?"

"Old habits die hard."

"I see that." Scott looked her over and Scarlett felt very suddenly out of place.

"But enough about that… what are you doing here? I… I mean not that I'm unhappy to see you, I'm just surprised. There are six billion people in the world and we practically run into each other in a place we've never been to together." Scarlett faked a laugh, something she'd often done with Scott to begin with so she was hoping he wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Scott urged her to sit down at the bench near the bus stop and she joined him but at arm's length. She had decided she couldn't trust this new version of Scott until he'd proven to her that he was worthy of such a gift.

"After the fiasco with that place you were working for I woke up in a hospital and… I was hurting, let me tell you! I don't know what it is you did there but… it left me a nasty scar." Scott lifted his shirt to show her the scarring on his side and Scarlett looked away. How many nightmares had she had about having been responsible for his death and there he was, nearly fine. It shook her to see him, and for more reasons than she could count. At least now there was one less thing to do after MedCo had been taken care of. Scott had been found and she could say her piece and move on with her life. But now that Scott had found_ her_, it still left her with a thousand questions she wasn't sure she wanted the answers to.

"I thought you were dead." Scarlett hung her head and looked away. The guilt she felt was real even if she was wearing a mask for most of the conversation thus far. Inside the MedCo facility she had decided that his life and hers weren't worth letting MedCo win and she had made the decision to let him die. Not that she hadn't tried, and hard at that, to save his life. It was the only reason MedCo had been able to keep her locked up for so long, because she'd been trying to find a way out without any casualties. But there hadn't been a way out.

She hadn't realized how true that statement was to the rest of her life. Was there no real way out after what MedCo had done? She thought that killing Marcia and Mikhail would put an end to it, but maybe that wasn't the case. Even if she erased every trace of her inside MedCo there would be someone else who would remember her and come after her. It was a vicious cycle and Scarlett was finally beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, she would have to live with what she had done without the ability to make up for the wrongs she'd committed in hopes of finding freedom.

"I thought _you_ were dead." Scott looked serious and for a second Scarlett considered trusting him. He averted his eyes and furrowed his brow, his jaw even clenched as he reflected on the revelation. "You've been getting into trouble for years, trouble I never knew existed before we met and while I knew it was inevitable that it would lead to your end there was nothing that could prepare me for _actually_ losing you." Scarlett softened. If Scott was acting he was doing a damn good job of it. The Scott she remembered was too dopey to be this good.

"I didn't expect them to use you against me. Go figure I would try to take a normal job and end up in more trouble than I'd gotten into when I was looking for trouble." Scarlett rolled her eyes and itched at her sleeve. The spare ammunition she had tucked there rubbed against her thumb and the urge to defend herself grew. Her mind and her body were arguing back and forth and she honestly didn't know which was going to win. Something about Scott sent up red flags in every part of Scarlett but there was also a big part of her that wanted to believe what he was saying.

Scarlett wanted nothing but happiness for Scott, happiness that she could never give him during their time together. He'd been there for her, or at least she had believed he'd been there for her even when she'd reflected on the times where he'd mostly reprimanded her and tried to talk her out of her crazy lifestyle. Every sane boyfriend would've tried to change her to stay safe right? That was love. But Scarlett couldn't have cared less what Scott did as long as it didn't interfere with the business she'd been running back then. That was definitely _not_ love. Her mind was racing and Scott could tell, that much hadn't changed.

"You're still confused aren't you?" Scott smiled, patting her leg. She quickly brushed his hand away under the guise of turning to face him a bit better.

"I still don't get what you're doing here. I mean it's great to see that you're alive and I saw that you checked out of a hospital later… once I had realized you weren't dead that is. But the odds of us ending up in this particular bus stop at this particular moment are… the numbers are getting to me."

"You're hyper rational Scarlett, you always have been. Sometimes fate takes things into its hands and there's nothing that can properly explain it." Scott smiled that same stupid smile that he always did and Scarlett looked away.

"That's not how reality works, Scott. You and I both know that. It's cute to think that things are often meant to be _but…_"

"Okay, so you _really_ haven't changed." A hint of a frown crossed Scott's brow but he quickly masked it with a chuckle. Warning signs flashed in her thoughts again to pull back and get the hell out of there but where would she go? Maybe following her instincts this time hadn't been the best idea.

"There are some things about me that will never change Scott, no matter what happens." Scarlett shrugged nonchalantly and finally gave him the cold shoulder. Why did he keep focusing on her changing? What change was he looking for in her? Of course she had changed but not because of him and certainly not _for_ him. Tony popped into her mind again. He had been the reason she'd changed and that was after she had tried as hard as she possibly could _not_ to.

"After I got out of the hospital I worked hard to take care of myself. With you gone, I needed to be wary of your enemies and make sure that… I could handle what was coming. I'm sure you noticed what's changed about me."

"Well considering you used to be a literal stick figure…" Scarlett cocked an eyebrow and much to her surprise Scott laughed. She had always given him a hard time about taking care of his body. Not because she was shallow but because she had worried about exactly what he'd used as an excuse to finally get into shape. Scott could never take care of himself back then, clearly that had changed.

"I was. But I have been working hard and after applying at a few places and actively seeking work I got hired at one of the technical enhancement centers here! I was about to catch a bus to Moscow but I was running a little late when I spilled my tea this morning and… well here you are. Now tell me that's _not_ fate?"

"So you work here?" Scarlett wasn't buying the story and the fact that Scott had gone out of his way to bring up her history to make her feel guilty and responsible for what had become of him had only solidified that for her. Then again, Scott had _always_ been like that with using guilt to his advantage. It was how he'd ended up her boyfriend in the first place. Their relationship had a strong foundation of guilt and blame.

"Well, I work in the city. Not here, this is a bus stop. Are you okay?" Scott furrowed his brow and took her hand which she promptly pulled out of his reach.

"I'm fine, Scott. For someone who is supposed to be dead, I'm remarkable." Scarlett decided she would say what was on her mind now and then get going. Being with Scott was putting her behind schedule and it made her feel unsettled. When she'd finished with MedCo she would have to make sure to look into Scott's history a little more in depth. Admittedly she had ignored a large chunk of their time together so maybe he was up to more than she had ever suspected. Scott had always seemed harmless and so she had treated him as though he were incapable of doing harm. But now after time away, she was beginning to think it was a wrong assessment and a case of very poor judgment.

Maybe she'd have to lay off the scotch for a little while.

"If you ask me, I'd say you look terrible. You're thin and you have these… bags under your eyes. And now that I look closer you're all banged up, Scarlett." Scott pointed to the wound on her head that had successfully knocked her out when she'd been thrown off of the ship in South Africa after fighting Erick. No, scratch that, after she'd gotten her ass handed to her by Erick the zombie. Scarlett was still having all sorts of Resident Evil flash backs that she didn't want to deal with.

"Well, aren't you sweet? It's been a weird week but I'm just fine." Scarlett nodded her head and urged his hand away from her. Why did he keep trying to touch her? Didn't he know about personal space and how to stay in his own? How annoying. "And actually I'm glad we ran into each other because there are a few things I need to tell you."

"I don't think that any good conversation has started like that. Why don't we at least grab lunch and talk it over there?" Scott nodded down the road toward a shopping center Scarlett had noticed on the bus ride there.

"I'd rather do this here plus I just ate on the way here."

"Okay." Scott seemed disappointed but shrugged his shoulders and then waited politely for her to say her piece.

"I thought you died when they were holding you to use against me. They wanted me to build something I wasn't comfortable building and… even then I refused. I made them believe I was doing what they wanted me to do so that I could bide my time and find out where they held you. Unfortunately what I built to keep them fooled turned out to be just as harmful as what they _wanted _from me in the first place. Before I could get to you I overheard someone giving the order to execute you and then the place went to hell. I had every intention of looking for you." Scarlett sat proudly. "But I was sick. I got sprayed with some nasty chemical and shot. It wasn't one of my better days."

"Some chemical?" Scott grimaced, looking genuinely concerned and actually touched that she had gone to such lengths for him. Had he doubted her dedication to their relationship too? She'd always suspected as much since he had often sat her down to have talks about where things were going and how they would never be able to establish a real life together with her chasing ghosts.

"Yeah, it's all cleared up now." Scarlett waved off that topic since she didn't really have the time or energy to get into the details. "MedCo had been using Stark Industries as a front for some of their dealings and while I still haven't figured out how they got their hands on so much Stark Tech I had a good idea at the time. It was funny, Iron Man saved me and brought me exactly where I needed to be in order to get revenge for _you_." Scarlett shrugged and smiled slightly. Summarizing what had happened to her had never been her forte. Scarlett really didn't like drawing attention to her misdeeds and mistakes but this was one she had to at least explain for her own sanity.

The guilt had been nearly eating her alive since she'd woken up in Tony Stark's lab half dead nearly a month ago now. It seemed like far more time had transpired since then. She'd traveled halfway across the world after that and often times she had to remind herself that it was just that too much was happening at once, not that too much time had passed. Her eyes traveled back to Scott who was listening intently. Why did she get the feeling that he already knew how this story ended? She sure wished someone would tell her. Something on his arm caught her eye and she immediately withdrew her gaze.

Did Scott have _surgical scars_ on his arm? And the scar he'd revealed to her when he'd lifted his shirt seemed out of place for what he'd been through. Hadn't he been shot? Even Scarlett had a scar from being shot. Actually Scarlett had several scars from being shot though only one of them was from her ordeal with MedCo. The chemical on her leg had left a nasty wrinkling in her skin but it was fading over time, thankfully. The scars on Scott's body were too methodical and precise. They were from some kind of procedure not a gunshot wound and an explosion.

"Since there's been no report of Stark turning up dead and his stocks are higher than ever, I'm assuming that didn't go according to plan." Scott's smile momentarily faded into a scowl and Scarlett watched him suspiciously.

He was lying. Scott was definitely lying. The red flags hadn't been a misfire, her judgment had indeed been correct. Slipping the pocket knife she'd smuggled into the sleeve opposite the extra ammo into her palm, Scarlett nodded to confirm Scott's suspicions. She wouldn't make the first move but when Scott made his she would be more than ready. The bigger he was the harder he'd fall.

"I know this sounds crazy but Tony Stark is _not_ the man you and I thought he was for years. I'm sure there were points in time where he was… the megalomaniacal asshole we suspected but not anymore. Scott, Tony's a really good guy and he's trying to climb out of the hole he put himself into. What started out as a search for revenge changed everything about my life. You keep saying I haven't changed but that's because I don't think you ever really knew me very well."

"We've been back together for all of five minutes and you're already harping on that? I know you very well Scarlett, maybe better than you know yourself if that's what you really think of me." Scott grimaced, the mask of happiness faltering for just a second before his attention turned back to her.

"Back together? No, no… we're not _back together_ Scott. Our relationship died in that explosion and for more than one reason. The first being that I never loved you." Scarlett was smiling despite her words but Scott looked angrier than she had ever seen him and his face was turning red from clenching his jaw as hard as he was. "And you deserved a woman who _could_ love you. I was never capable of it and I didn't realize that when we were together because I just assumed what we had was love." Scarlett kept the knife in her hand now, ready to jump out of the way when Scott chose his moment to strike. "I fell in love with Tony Stark even though I wanted him dead. That's how I know I never loved you and never could. I tried desperately not to fall for him and it happened in spite of both of our attempts to sabotage things."

Scott got up from where he stood and Scarlett sat and watched his every move. He seemed to be contemplating what she'd shared with him and trying desperately to keep his anger in check. Peering over her shoulder, Scarlett searched the perimeter. There were a good hundred places she could hide in the distance, which was great because she was certain that she was going to need them in a few minutes. Right now she had the upper hand. Scott seemed to think that she was being sincere about everything she was saying. He saw her having missed him because even after all this time he wanted her to miss him.

If he saw she was lying he wasn't letting on. Scarlett had been mostly honest, at least about the important things. Now her mind was trying not to wander over how far Scott's treachery went back. How long had he been playing the victim simply to make her feel guilty? In his own way had he been trying to manipulate her into living a different life? Scarlett was almost completely positive he had a connection to MedCo now which meant he was the reason she'd been set up by them in the first place. Had he ever even been held to use against her? She didn't know what was real and what was made up now.

She should've seen it coming a mile away. It was obvious even to Tony and while he _was_ a genius it didn't take a genius to see that Scott had to have been turned against her at some point. Scarlett didn't want to see it.

She wanted Scott to continue being the dopey boy she'd met while working in Senegal who had been so sweet and naïve in the ways of the world that he'd been outraged when he discovered what Scarlett _really_ did for a living. Was this her fault? Had she turned Scott into what he'd become? A man covered in surgical scars, trying to manipulate someone into loving him?

"Scott, I know it's hard to hear but you had to have known long before I did. We were never really compatible. Happiness is hard to find and I never knew what it was until I met Tony and even then it's still something I'm figuring out. You deserved it." She continued to speak in the past tense since she was pretty sure Scott was no longer the man who deserved happiness if he was in fact guilty of what she suspected.

"I need a minute, okay? This… this is a lot." He groaned under his breath and kept his back to her his hand on his head as though he were suffering from some terrible headache. Scarlett sighed and rolled her eyes behind his back.

"Because I wasn't in a rush or anything, okay. Take your minute." Scarlett glanced down the street. She should've gotten on that bus. Her gut was always right! It had been about Tony, it had been about MedCo, it had been about the job in Afghanistan that had started this twisted spiral she was stuck in and yet she still continued to ignore it and fight against it at every opportunity! What the hell was wrong with her? Why was she so stupid sometimes? For someone who was supposed to be smarter than the average bear, she was certainly acting like a dumb ass.

Scarlett's phone buzzed in her pocket and she jumped nearly a mile. It had been so long since she'd gotten a proper phone call that she hadn't expected the feeling and it set her nerves on edge. When it buzzed again she pulled it out of her pocket.

"I've got to take this." She saw that Tony was calling her and it couldn't have been worse timing. Scott was still ignoring her and was now muttering under his breath. Sliding her finger over the screen she answered the call and placed the phone to her ear, standing up and taking a step away. "Now is not a great time." She hissed into the receiver.

"Do you know how long I've been trying to get in touch with you?" Tony's voice hesitated on the other end of the line. He hadn't been expecting her to pick up considering he'd been trying to call her for the last twenty four hours and she hadn't bothered to respond once. He'd filled up her voicemail with messages asking her to call him back and expressing his concern and now _she_ was acting like she'd been inconvenienced?

Oh, they were _so_ going to have a very long talk about communication when he next saw her.

"Yeah, sorry about that. My phone got wet in Cape Town and it fritzed out. I didn't realize and had to rebuild the damn thing on the plane. But could I possibly call you back? I'm sorta busy."

"No, what I have to say can't wait. And it's not something stupid so don't dismiss me okay?" As she paced along the sidewalk and pushed her messy hair out of her face something happened that she hadn't suspected when she turned her back on Scott for a split second. Something cold and circular pressed against the back of her neck and she recognized it immediately as the barrel of a gun. She hadn't heard Scott move or come toward her. How had he done it so quickly? She'd only turned around for a second! In her left hand she now held the switch blade and was very carefully opening it to defend herself.

"_Tony…_" She whispered cautiously and felt the barrel press harder against the back of her neck. Saying his name seemed only to anger Scott further. Something must have snapped in Scott's brain to make him act the way he was. Maybe too many surgeries and experiments had destroyed his rational mind.

"Don't say another word to him." Scott whispered threateningly and she could hear the click of the barrel as it cocked so close to her ears. While Tony spoke on the other end of the phone, Scarlett contemplated her next move hoping she could find a way out of her predicament without getting shot. Scarlett was very tired of people shooting things at her.

"Stop arguing with me! It's Scott! Scott is the man you're looking for! He's behind it all Scarlett, every damn bit of it! I know you're going to be pissed at me for this later but Scarlett he's obsessed with you. Something in that guy's head broke… more like twenty screws popped loose and now he's gunning for _you_, okay? He set you up in Afghanistan to be tortured, he's been working with MedCo all along even from way back then. Scarlett I know it's had to hear, but it's Scott. It's always been Scott." He sounded hopeful and as he watched his flight pattern as he flew closer to his destination in Russia he hoped he could get to her in time. He hoped even more that she would understand what he had done and why. When she stayed silent on the other end, he _knew_ she was as angry as he suspected she'd be.

Scarlett was holding her breath. Scott was behind what had happened in Afghanistan? He'd put her through that _torture? _And he expected her to love him after he had set her up for the worst moments of her life? Her chest constricted and she almost panicked. Churning in her stomach was the breakfast she'd eaten that morning and she cursed Natasha Romanoff for making her eat. But the cold barrel of the gun pressing against her neck kept her in the here and now, clearing her mind immediately.

If she panicked, she was as good as dead.

"…don't make me do it, Scarlett." Scott whispered, moving closer to her and grabbing onto her shoulder roughly. It was on purpose, by design. She had pushed him away on numerous occasions in the last half an hour and now he was making a point that he would do whatever he damn well pleased regardless of how Scarlett felt about it.

What had she done that had turned this man into a monster?

"He's been stealing your ideas for years and selling them to private dealers… You know those little black notebooks you carry around with scribbles of these ridiculously genius things that you never get around to? I spied through one, you should know I'm a nosy guy okay? I'm not sorry for that but I_ am_ sorry for this. Look Scarlett I'm a jealous, greedy son of a bitch but Scott's way more of an asshole than I thought he was. You've got to lay low. Call S.H.I.E.L.D. I know you don't want to and honestly I don't want you to either but if Scott's coming for you then you're in more trouble than you can imagine. He's done some things… experiments on himself. Scarlett you don't stand a chance and I'm not saying that as an over protective boyfriend. I'm saying that because it's true. I did the math and you know my math is never wrong. Don't argue with me, it's _never_ wrong."

Scarlett closed her eyes and felt them burning with emotion. For years he'd been betraying her? Stealing her ideas even? How long had she financially supported the both of them and he had been stealing her ideas to sell for a profit? And now he was one of those _things? _

This was her fault. She knew all along that it had been and now finally her demons were catching up with her one by one and dragging her down to hell.

Sorrow quickly turned into rage and Scarlett's hand trembled with anger. Scott wasn't going to wait long before making his move but she was certain of one thing. He didn't have the balls to pull the trigger that would blow her brains out. What was about to happen could break Tony's heart but she didn't have any more options, not now. With any luck she'd be able to hang up the phone and break the connection before she dropped it. But first she had to let him know that he was right, and at least give him that comfort.

Though somehow she doubted that Tony would find any comfort, even with the few words she would find time to spare. Would she be able to kill Scott? After everything she'd shared with him and the years she'd spent mentally defending his motives, would she really be able to see him as the monster she now knew he was.

"Scarlett, I'm really sorry. But your ex-boyfriend is a double crossing, evil, manipulative asshole." Tony exhaled, nervous when she didn't respond to him. "That is a completely different kind of asshole than I am. Assholes like me look down on assholes like him.

"I know." She finally whispered, preparing herself for the fight that was about to come.


	27. Unrequited Love

"What the hell do you _mean_ you know?" Tony's flight path had faltered upon hearing Scarlett's response to his big reveal and he now hovered in the air waiting to learn more. After he'd spent the last two days being driven mad with guilt and fear she already _knew_? How many times had he kicked himself for possibly destroying his relationship with her because he was nosy and she _already knew everything he had worked up to tell her?_ When was she planning on telling him that? "Scarlett, what the hell? You have to give me a little more than that."

But Scarlett didn't respond to him.

Why was she being so damn cryptic about everything? He'd practically spilled his guts to her (though he conveniently forgot to reveal that he'd pried so desperately into her history) and she had barely spoken two words to him.

What was happening on the other end of that phone that he couldn't see? He hated that she didn't have the technology that he was accustomed to. Tony was a very visual person and not being able to see Scarlett's reaction only left him wondering what it really was. Could she still be mad at him even though she apparently already _knew_ exactly what he had intended to tell her? He had betrayed her trust after all. Why wasn't she yelling at him? Why was Tony disappointed that she wasn't yelling at him?

His big reveal had sort of flopped and left him flustered in the meantime.

Scarlett, on the other hand, was _not_ thinking about how Tony had figured things out or what he'd said on the other line. She was too busy trying to judge how much time she would have to twist Scott's arm away before he fired a shot out of nerves.

Scott always did have shitty nerves.

But Scarlett's mind was reeling and she was beginning to think her nerves were just as shot. Yes, it was true that by the time Tony had told her about Scott she had figured out a good chunk of his true intentions both past and present. But much of what he had revealed had been new information and she was trying to wrap her mind around it. For once she wasn't just Scarlett the super spy, mercenary or whatever it was that she had become.

She was Scarlett the _human being_ and she'd been betrayed by someone who was supposed to take care of her. Wasn't that what _he_ had wanted in the first place? To take care of her? Hadn't they argued over it a hundred times and she'd objected to the notion of needing anyone? Here she thought she'd been the one breaking hearts! Were any of the moments she'd had in the past real with Scott? Or was it all a part of some bigger scheme he'd had planned from the beginning? Head pounding, Scarlett was doing her best not to hyperventilate. She was rethinking every moment they'd spent together.

Now was most certainly _not_ the time to get emotional.

This was when she _needed_ to be the hardened fighter she'd worked for years to become. Yet it wasn't working the way she'd wanted, nay needed it to. Her head was spinning and despite the repetitive mental chant she'd started of '_I can deal with it later_' Scarlett was failing.

She wasn't very good at failing.

But she couldn't keep pushing things off to deal with them later either. Why did she have to reach that conclusion now, of all times?

When Scott reached for her phone to knock it out of her hand, she didn't think she just reacted the way anyone would. Dropping the phone so he had nothing to grab it cracked on the ground and the screen shattered but the call didn't disconnect as she had hoped that it would. What Tony was about to hear wasn't going to be good. Possibly traumatizing.

"Scarlett? _Scarlett!_" She could hear Tony yelling at her through the phone since he'd obviously been alerted to the dangerous situation. At once she threw her elbow back into Scott's face and he covered his nose in frustration but his finger also instinctively clenched and pulled the trigger on the hand gun. A single shot rang out, nowhere near Scarlett, crashing into the concrete on the ground nearby and ricocheting somewhere else. Tony was officially screaming on the phone and panicking but Scarlett wasn't exactly in a position comfort him.

Reaching for her hand gun, Scarlett pulled it free quickly and aimed it at her former lover but she wasn't sure she could bring herself to _actually_ pull the trigger. This had been a man that she'd spent years of her life with. Ending it with one bullet didn't seem possible.

Scarlett was beginning to think that she desperately needed to see a shrink.

Where were all the people of this town anyway? Someone should've called the cops by now. Why was the whole place _abandoned?_ How had Scott managed to trigger this entire series of events to lead up to this _one_ moment? Scarlett's head spun with unanswered questions.

"You broke my nose you bitch!" Scott shouted, leaning forward and holding his bleeding nose, his eyes tearing.

"Well, considering what you did to me in the last year I think you're lucky that I didn't break your balls, asshole." Scarlett's hands were trembling from upset. The memory of having a panic attack at Tony's lab came rushing back to her thoughts. There was absolutely no time for her to panic like that so she concentrated on taking deeper breaths though it was no simple feat.

Faster than Scarlett had anticipated, Scott grabbed her wrist and twisted it backwards then grabbed the barrel of her gun and twisted it away from her grasp. Scarlett let the gun go; it wasn't worth breaking her wrist over and she had a spare though she was unsure if she'd get to it with how fast Scott was. When he reached for her again, she deflected his hand with her palm and punched again at the already bloodied nose he had. It was a cheap shot, but Scarlett was desperate and was more than prepared to fight dirty to gain an advantage.

"What you don't know about me could fill a book, Scarlett." Scott was smiling and the pain he'd expressed only seconds ago had mysteriously faded. He had blood dripping down his nose, past his lips and coating his teeth despite his demeanor. Something was seriously off about him. Scarlett was guessing some kind of nerve damage from the surgical scars she'd took notice of earlier.

"I'm realizing that, actually. Something we agree on at last. It only took how many years?" Scarlett was still defensive. She hoped if Tony heard her voice then he would realize she was alive and stop panicking so much. Not that she could blame him for freaking out, she would've done the same if the tables had been turned.

"Admitting you're at fault for once? Taking responsibility perhaps?" Scott grabbed for Scarlett but she anticipated this and ducked. As she was going to kick out his legs underneath him she squealed in surprise finding Scott was _much_ faster than she had ever expected and lunged nearly on top of her. She rolled out of the way just in time and got to her feet. His hands smashed at the concrete, leaving dents against the ground with unnatural strength. Whatever Scott had done to his body, it wasn't good for _her_ and she didn't stand a chance.

Her only option was to run, but where? How did Scott even know she was going to be there in the first place? Where were the people who lived in this town? She couldn't get that out of her head. The place couldn't be abandoned. Were people sitting in their homes, ignoring the attack going on outside? She wouldn't put it past MedCo to have orchestrated such an event.

Scarlett turned to run once she realized it was her only option but stopped short seeing a familiar face standing at the end of the block.

Mikhail, one of the three heads of MedCo Scarlett had encountered during her time held in captivity in South Africa, was wearing a tan leather trench coat, hands in his pocket and watching the scene in front of him casually. Marcia and Erick were his companions and while they had been formidable, Mikhail had been the only one to actually frighten her. Even if she got away from Scott, there would be Mikhail to deal with. This day wasn't going very well.

When she stopped at the sight of Mikhail, Scott seized opportunity and grabbed her wrist then practically threw her against the bench at the bus stop where they'd earlier been speaking. She slid across the top and grabbed onto the end of it with every intention of flipping backwards off of it and running in the opposite direction.

But Scott was once again on top of her with his hand against her throat and unearthly speeds.

"How much did MedCo pay you to let them experiment on you, huh? To become a lab rat? Tell me, what's the going price for a human being these days?" Scarlett hissed, out of breath and coughing now. She was no match for Scott just as she had been no match for Erick on the ship. With blind luck she'd gotten away just in time there but now she wasn't sure she'd be so lucky. Every ounce of luck Scarlett had once had seemed to finally be running out.

"Money? You think this was about _money_?" Scott laughed but he was definitely not smiling. His face was red from rage and he tightened his grip around her throat so it would be a struggle every time she spoke. Scarlett grabbed onto his wrist and felt around for his bones and bided her time. Breathing was no easy feat, but it wasn't impossible yet either.

"Everything's about money, Scott. Or did you just steal my experiments because you wanted to screw me over then too? Do you really think anyone would've believed you were smart enough to come up with _any_ of the technology I've developed in my off hours?" Scarlett couldn't help herself. Taunting wasn't the best idea when she was being choked by a mad man who had a gun in one hand and the other against her windpipe. Betrayal made her do stupid things.

"That's all you think about, isn't it? _You._ How I cheated _you?_"

"Well you're making a pretty compelling argument for me right now!" Scarlett choked but resisted talking when Scott squeezed tighter on her throat. Dizziness flooded her vision, her ears rang and the constriction made her choke and gag in order to gather her breath.

"How about the years you cheated _me?_" His eyes were wide and bloodshot, and he was practically spitting at her as he screamed. "All I ever wanted was for you to love me! That was all I _ever_ wanted! But all you cared about was your damn job and the next damn mission when I was standing right there! Waiting for you to look at me and notice that I was all that you needed! I was there for you, damnit! I was there holding your hair back when you puked after getting wasted. I was there to bail you out after you got into some drunken bar fight with some pig that you'd instigated! I was there to check you out of the hospital after you got hurt! How many times did I tell you that someday it would be too much? Someday you'd regret it!"

Seeing red, Scarlett pressed her fingers against the sensitive spot between his bones on his wrists and forced his hand to release its grip. Kicking him away at last she rolled off of the bench and landed on her hands and knees, coughing and gasping for breath. Her lungs were stinging from lack of air. If she had waited much longer she would've passed out.

"What, so you paid someone to give me what you thought I deserved? You tried to turn me into someone I'm not?" Scarlett coughed and slowly got to her feet. By the time she'd managed to, Scott had grabbed her and pulled her close again by her hair. She'd reached for her second handgun but he had easily taken it from her and tossed it aside with the other one. "I was good at what I did and you hated every second of it. I told you that I couldn't be what you wanted and I meant it. It's not my fault that you wanted something different than I did but it doesn't mean I was wrong for wanting it."

"Do you think I care what you want?" Scott chuckled, grabbing one arm and then the other as she twisted away stubbornly. She may have been outmanned but she wasn't going to hand herself over. "None of that matters Scarlett, _not_ anymore!"

"So what's the plan then, Scott?" Scarlett knew the only way she'd managed to get far enough away from him was to get him angry… well, _angrier_ than he already was. "Isn't this the part where the villain sums up what they're up to or would you rather I guess? I was damn good at what I did and you set me up to take a fall so that the point you'd been trying to drill into my head for years would finally get through? _Your life is too dangerous_. Wasn't that what you always said? I can hear it in my head. You told me how I'd someday get into trouble I couldn't get out of so easily." Scarlett's plan, as feeble as it was, seemed to be working. Scott's grip on her fumbled as he grew angrier and Scarlett managed to smack his hands away from her repeatedly which only further frustrated him.

"Stop squirming!" He growled. Even if Scarlett managed to get away from Scott there was Mikhail to deal with. She was in no condition to fight with either of them but what other choice did she have?

"Well guess what, Scott. That kind of trouble only happened when you pulled the strings." Scarlett continued to sneak just beyond his grasp. The last thing she wanted was for him to grab her throat again. It was still sore from the last time he had.

She was furious! Irrationally so and while she tried to keep her head in the game it was proving far more difficult than she had hoped. The ex-girlfriend side of Scarlett was betrayed and upset with Scott and wanted to give him a piece of her mind then possibly find his car, slash his tires and bash the windshield in. It was a regular country song moment, except that now her ex-boyfriend was some horrible experiment with emotional issues trying to take her captive for god only knows what reason.

There weren't any country songs quite like that. Not that Scarlett could think of at least.

"It would've happened eventually! One way or another you would've met your sticky end. How many times had you broken a bone? Or come home shot or stabbed with me worried sick! You wouldn't even let me help you!" Scott was fast but Scarlett wasn't doing much more than staying right out of his reach. Running would take her focus off of him and she'd never make it more than a few feet before he caught her.

"Wouldn't let you help me? Are you kidding? Helping doesn't mean nagging and scolding! I needed _help_ and someone who would accept me as the flawed piece of shit I was, not someone who wanted me to be something I could never be! So what is it, Scott? What are you going to do? Keep me in some cell and hope that someday I'll love you? You can dissect my brain and I'm still going to be disgusted at the sight of you." She snarled in anger. "You're a monster, you know that? You were a good man once, when we met and now you're no better than the scum you used to despise."

"And you think you're some saint?" Scott was foaming at the mouth. When she'd said nothing he could do would change her it had sent his mental state spiraling out of control.

"I know what I am." Scarlett shook her head. "Some of us don't make excuses."

"I cleaned up your messes, I did nothing but love you and now _I'm_ a monster?" Scott snatched her right arm and twisted her around, grabbing the other roughly and finally keeping her from squirming out of his grasp. Instead of fighting his grip Scarlet narrowed her eyes at him and saved her strength.

"You made the monster, Scott." Scarlett felt her stomach ache and wondered if it was her fault after all. Had there always been this beast inside of Scott waiting to get out or was he perhaps instead transformed into it over the years by Scarlett who had ignored his need for attention? She should've let him go years ago but sometimes the truth didn't make an appearance until it was too late. Scarlett had needed to be away from Scott to realize how toxic their relationship was. "And I never asked you to clean up anything for me. I had been perfectly capable of taking care of my own mistakes and handling them. You intervened where you didn't belong and acted like I was a burden. I never loved you, how could I when you could never love the person I am?" Scott growled, an unearthly sort of growl that unsettled Scarlett like she couldn't believe. Instinctively she flipped the switch on her Tesla glove to arm it but wasn't sure she would be able to do more than shock Scott to give her a chance at getting away.

Not that there was anywhere for her to go, she reminded herself.

Scarlett knew she was trapped like a rat unless she miraculously managed to kill Scott and then get past Mikhail. But Scott was finally doing what she had hoped he'd do when he got mad enough. He grabbed her and lifted her into the air with ease. Eyes wide, Scarlett braced for the landing blow and then grabbed Scott's arm and let him have it. The shock that passed through him rebounded and shocked her as well. Cursing loudly she was even further alarmed when Scott tossed her effortlessly at least ten feet through the air. Landing on the grass in a roll Scarlett quickly turned onto her stomach and jumped to her feet.

Maybe she could lose them between houses. She really hated plans that were dependent on luck. Flipping the switch to recharge the Tesla device she grimaced as it failed and sparked on her arm, severe enough that she could feel it burn her flesh. When Scott had thrown her the device had scraped against the ground and parts of it had broken apart.

"Seriously? Of all the times I've been thrown around you break on the _grass_?" Cursing again Scarlett took a chance and ran as quickly as she could toward the nearest fence. Easily she could hop it and put some distance between her and those who would aim to harm her. How had they found her in the first place? The lengths she'd gone through to keep MedCo off of her tail had been extreme and yet now Scott _and_ Mikhail were there and had organized an entire set up to stop her. "This is no time for math, holy crap Scarlett." She whispered to herself as she grabbed onto top of the nearest fence. But as she reached the top something hot and painful grazed the outside of her left arm. She heard the shot as she felt the bullet tear through flesh and continue past her with a zip.

The timing couldn't have been worse. While the blow had only been a graze of her arm it had done enough damage to make her bleed and cause her left arm to give out on her. At the top of the wall, she tilted and tried to compensate for the balance lost with her leg but wasn't fast enough and instead toppled head over heels toward the ground on the other side of the fence landing right on the afflicted arm.

Temporarily she saw stars but gritted her teeth and kept from yelling out at the misery it caused. It was just pain and ultimately pain was just nerves sending emergency signals to her brain and if she could repeat that then maybe the pain could be ignored until she _wasn't_ being pursued by a mad man and his lackey.

"You thought I was weak." She could hear Scott continuing on his mad rant from the other side of the wall and forced her legs to cooperate and her right arm to over compensate for the left before getting at last to her feet and following the wall behind a nearby house. "You always thought I was a little mouse who couldn't take care of himself!" Scarlett wasn't going to be goaded into responding and revealing her position. Instead she was more concerned about the steady drip of blood from her arm. Her sleeve was torn so she couldn't see the wound but she could feel her fingers going numb under the weight of her damaged Tesla glove. She really needed to invest in some protective armor of some kind if she survived this.

"So I changed." Scott continued to growl in an unnatural tone. What had happened to him? What had MedCo done to change him? As she snuck into the small alleyway in between the block of homes Scarlett was for once, at a loss of what to do. She was screwed, there was no way out that she could foresee that didn't end in death and more bloodshed. What did Scott want from her? Maybe she was wrong and he _hadn't_ wanted her alive. The gunshot wound on her arm left her wondering.

And why wouldn't the damn thing stop bleeding?

"You thought I died in that explosion! You thought I was helpless and trapped and you were my _only_ hope! Well you were _never _the hero in this story Scarlett you were always the villain." At the end of the alleyway, Scarlett felt sick. The cling in her throat that she'd been ignoring was making her nauseous but if she coughed she'd practically broadcast where she was hiding. So instead she suffered and dealt with the dizziness caused by lack of oxygen. At the end of the alley she peered around the corner and saw no sign of Mikhail or Scott. So she made a break for it and ran across the street and toward the next alley.

But halfway through the street she heard another shot. This time she had the common sense to duck out of the way. The whistling of the bullet was close but the aim had been sloppier than the shot prior. When she reached the sidewalk, Scott came barreling toward her and knocked her off of her feet, sending them both sliding against the asphalt, Scott tumbling over her head as she kicked him to urge him away.

"You were right about a few things Scarlett. I was working for MedCo long before you knew about them. I used the power they gave me to have you taken by those men and have you set up on that mission in Afghanistan. Do you remember what I said when you collapsed in our apartment after escaping?"

Scarlett wasn't going to dignify that with a response but she knew very well exactly what he'd said to her that day. Those words had been haunting her in her dreams for weeks.

"You should've seen it coming." Scott pushed Scarlett easily back on the ground as she attempted to get up. Coughing and gagging, Scarlett spit up some kind of nasty discolored ick onto the asphalt and merely stared at the ground in front of her trying desperately to think. Plans of attack raced through her mind but she couldn't seem to get her limbs to cooperate. "I warned you a hundred times that if you kept playing with fire you would get burned… and you never realized who was fanning the flame! You wanted me to be your innocent… sweet… Scott forever. You're just as guilty as I am."

As he spoke he gave her side a jolting kick that knocked her a few feet onto the asphalt. Scarlett coughed harder and held her side but her fingers were numbed from the gunshot wound. Slowly rolling onto her back, Scarlett stared at the gray sky and continued to choke and gag. Trying to run would cause her more pain and she couldn't see a way out by running. She had to reevaluate her situation. Maybe letting him win was the only option. It might have been easier to go from there.

Scott walked over to her and stood with his feet on either side of her, clicking his tongue in disapproval as he stared her down. "You know I actually _was_ being held captive in South Africa." He tilted his head to the side and then crouched low and sat firmly on top of her. Grabbing her chin he forced her head off of the ground. Scarlett's lip curled in disgust and against her better judgment she spit in his face.

"Go to hell."

"You first." Scott squeezed her chin and dug his nails into her flesh then leaned closer. "I had been working with Mikhail back then while you recovered from your ordeal to… better myself. First it was my muscular structure and then the bones. But what we were doing was off the record you see… Human experimenting was what MedCo was all about to begin with but… using it for my own personal gain, for _you_… well that was entirely different. It was unprofessional." Scott dropped Scarlett's head back against the asphalt with a smack making her dizzy. The outside of her vision was darkening, like an old movie fading at the end of the reel. "Oh no, you don't get to pass out. Not until I say so." Scott smacked her hard across the face and she groaned in irritation.

"Are you sure? Because I could certainly live without listening to you blather on. Is this supposed to make you look like _less_ of a monster because right now it's not going so well?" Scarlett's heart was thudding so hard in her chest she was sure that some horrible Xenomorph alien was going to burst out at any second and attack Scott and leave her a ruined corpse on the road.

Stranger things had happened in the last week.

"You will do whatever I _tell_ you to do." Scott snarled and Scarlett rolled her eyes in response. "That was always your greatest flaw, Scarlett. You never listen… not until it benefits you but you won't have to worry about that for much longer. Soon enough you'll do whatever I tell you to do. Whatever _they_ tell you to do. I've dreamt about it for weeks… months!"

"Blah, blah, blah, this is old news." Scarlett spoke between coughs. "Oh no, big bad MedCo wants to experiment on me and use me to do their bidding." Rolling her eyes she taunted him in a sing-song tone. "Get over yourself Scott. Seriously, why don't you go eat a carton of Rocky Road and buy a vibrator like the rest of us women do after a bad break up?" Scott reached for the gun that he'd fired at her now three times and aimed it at her with shaking hands. Scarlett knew he wasn't going to shoot her, he wanted her too badly. She'd had bad break ups before but this was _ridiculous_.

"Don't make me hurt your pretty face, Scarlett…" Scott took deep breaths to calm down. "I would've died in that explosion if it hadn't been for the experiments. I didn't get away before it as you suspected. There was so much fire… the pain was… incredible." His eyes faded and became distant as he recalled the day that had changed Scarlett's life forever. "But by then I was too strong. I walked away from the rubble hours later after my broken body had healed. I was taken to the hospital and stayed there for a week before checking out." Scott pulled up his shirt to show her the scar that he'd earlier pointed out. "That was where they had to remove a part of the table that had burst through my chest in the explosion. I would've died without what you claim has turned me into a monster."

"Well, that's a shame." Scarlett muttered, finally able to stop coughing after having been thrown around and spent so much time running.

"MedCo realized what a success I was, despite how I'd broken their rules. With Erick dead… or at least no longer in a position to help run the company, Marcia and Mikhail had no objections to wiping the slate clean and giving me what I wanted."

"Do you really think that this is going to end well for you?" Scott looked puzzled by her question. "Honestly, Scott… even as clever as some of what you've done has been you are still ignoring the big truth staring you in the face. You're blind! Still the dumbest smart guy I know." She shook her head. "They'll never let you live the life you want to live. You're their property now and if you think that you're anything more than that then you are as big a fool as you were before those experiments. Worse probably. I liked you much better before you became a murderous asshole."

"Shut up, Scarlett!"

"I guess none of those experiments were on your brain, right? I mean other than increased amounts of hormones that have obviously boosted your adrenal gland."

"I said shut up!"

"You are screwed! Screwed no matter what you do! You didn't just give into pressure you caved! Every good thing about you is lying on some surgical table in India, left to rot because you thought you had to be stronger! Guess what, Scott? No matter what you do, you can't win! Because they own you now. They win! Not you. You're just a pawn like the rest of us."

"I said _shut up_ you stupid bitch, you don't get to talk! Not anymore!" Scott grabbed her face, covering her mouth with his palm and snarling so close to her that she could practically feel him drool on her. Scarlett made feeble attempts to squirm away but between blood loss and being thrown around she was too weak to do much of anything. "I did this for you! Everything for _you_! So you could see that I was always the only thing you ever needed! I did this for _us_ and you won't ruin it! Not after I've worked so hard and come so far!" Scarlett bit hard onto Scott's hand and then spat blood back at him when he pulled away in surprise and howled in pain.

"You're a fool." Scarlett choked, spitting again to get the blood out of her mouth. "That's the problem Scott. I don't need you. I never needed you and I don't _want_ to need you!" Scarlett leaned her head back and shook it from side to side. "I don't know when something broke inside that dull head of yours, but this is all insane. It's absolutely _insane_! I know I was a shitty girlfriend and there is literally nothing you can do to change the way things panned out." For a very brief moment she could see reality make its way through to Scott and his blue eyes looked once again like those of the man she'd once pitied. There was no blame, no hate, no terrifying need to have her in his life. But it was short lived and anger quickly replaced it. Whatever experiments he had done with the intention of bettering his state of being had clearly backfired.

"You don't know what you're talking about, stop talking!" Scott's hands were trembling but he didn't make another attempt to harm her.

"I know you're in there somewhere." Scarlett furrowed her brow and leaned her head up. "That smart guy who conned me into a date years ago and snuck his way into my life is still in there. You don't have to do what MedCo says, not yet. We can _fix_ you. Everyone makes mistakes, Scott. I know I did." Taking a risk she reached up with her bad hand to touch his cheek in hopes of bringing him around. But Scott instead snarled and grabbed her arm, crushing what remained of the Tesla glove and tossing it away uselessly. Tearing at the hole in her sleeve caused by the bullet he'd shot, Scott pulled it far enough away so he had access to the wound.

"I do not need _you_ to fix me! I didn't make a mistake! You did! You're the failure! I'm the genius! You're the one who needs to change!" Scott spat angrily and dug his fingers into the wound he'd created, pulling at her skin. Scarlett howled instantly in pain and grabbed at his face with her other hand in an attempt to disorient him but he only pressed harder on the wound and laughed. His eyes lit up to see her squirming and miserable beneath him. Flesh tore beneath his fingers, blood dripped from the wound, over his hands, her arm, onto the asphalt beneath them.

"Genius? _You're_ the genius?" Scarlett laughed but it slowly disintegrated into a whimper and she coughed and leaned her head to the side, her entire left side trembling in pain from what Scott had done. "Hardly."

"And you are?" Scott held her arm up and watched the blood drip down her arm and stain the remainder of her sleeve while her fingers twitched as a pain response. Scarlett didn't respond because she didn't much feel like a genius at the moment. She felt like an idiot for not having seen what Scott was becoming and the way he had changed. How different would her life had been if she hadn't ignored the dramatic shift in his personality after she'd returned from Afghanistan?

How much pain would she have been spared?

Right now she could think of one very intense pain she could live without.

"That's what I thought." Scott smirked and pulled her arm closer, pressing his fingers against the wound once more and urging the blood to flow out of it. Gritting her teeth, Scarlett saw the stars flash again in her vision and struggled against the blackness threatening her. She couldn't breathe; her heart was beating too hard. Every time she inhaled she gagged and then coughed instead of breathing. "Do you know how I found you? You were doing the math earlier if I recall. Are you _still_ doing that math? Or have you figured it out?"

Scarlett coughed in response and batted her eyes to try and clear her vision. Scott leaned closer and sniffed the blood dripping down her arm which made her stomach turn.

"We couldn't get close enough to tap your location on anything you owned. Scarlett you were too clever. I know I was insulting you but you made me angry. You're a smart and beautiful woman… Don't you see that's why I can't let you go?" Scott let his tongue brush over the trail of blood dripping down her arm much to Scarlett's disgust. She gagged again but not from the phlegm gathering in her throat. "But your friends at S.H.I.E.L.D. got close enough to you and did the dirty work for us. They intercepted your call in South Africa. When you met with their little Agent there they tapped your signal and without even touching your phone you were caught."

"Shit." Scarlett cursed. She should've realized that's why her phone was acting funny. The line had been tampered with and she'd thought it was the water after she'd fallen off the boat! This was _exactly_ why she didn't want S.H.I.E.L.D. involved! When too many people got involved that was when work got sloppy. Scarlett had to stay off the grid not broadcast her whereabouts for everyone to see, including MedCo.

"From there it was as easy as intercepting the signal and blocking your phone. Clever bitch you rebuilt the thing on the plane. We'd lose our chance if we didn't intercept you here and now. You were bound to figure it out soon enough. Of course it wasn't by chance, I don't _work_ here. You should've followed your instincts Scarlett, you used to be good at that. But I made you second guess yourself didn't I? After Afghanistan… those nightmares you had. Can't trust your gut anymore because you didn't see it coming…" Licking his lips, Scott still had blood dripping down them.

"Don't need to be a genius to figure that out, Scott." Scarlett groaned, her lips curling in disgust and her stomach churning dangerously. If Scott kept up his vile behavior she might throw up. But before she could speak further he bit the wound on her arm, digging his teeth and tongue into her flash. At long last Scarlett couldn't hold back the agony she was in and she screamed in pain, her body reacting at first involuntarily.

But she couldn't sit there and let him mutilate her! Scarlett used the adrenaline to her advantage and smashed her right elbow into his rib. She forced the left arm further into his mouth so he would release the bite instinctively. As soon as her arm was free she smashed her hand into his already damaged nose and then pushed him onto his back and placed her good hand against his throat and squeezed as hard as she could.

He shoved her hand away and instead she balled them into fists and slammed them into his face, over and over. Scott started to laugh but Scarlett couldn't stop herself now that she'd started hitting Scott. She wanted him to hurt and wanted him to suffer! He'd put her through hell and was supposed to be someone who took care of her and supported her. Instead he'd taken that trust and tossed it aside in hopes of controlling her. Her eyes were burning but she refused to get any more upset than she already was. The last thing she wanted was to give Scott the satisfaction of seeing just how deeply he'd hurt her. Scott was laughing as he took the beating she doled out clearly amused by her sudden loss of control.

Finally when she struck him again her left arm gave out and she was forced to stop attacking him, resting her hands down on either side of him on the asphalt, out of breath and coughing in pain and misery.

"God damnit, god damnit!" Scarlett hung her head but Scott took the moment of weakness and flipped her back over. Blood still dripped from his lips and covered his hands.

"You see, Scarlett? You're just as much a monster as I am." Scott placed his hand on her cheek and then met her lips. She could taste the blood on them. _Her blood._

Squirming she made desperate attempts to part their lips, turning her head away and eventually biting hard at him until he was forced to pull away. "Damnit!" He pulled back and held his busted lip in anger.

Scarlett pushed him off of her and scrambled to her feet but was soon leaning over with her hands on her knees and throwing up. The taste of blood had been what set her off, but the amount of phlegm trapped in her throat had made her sick to her stomach to begin with. Not to mention the pain she was in. Adrenaline had finally worn off and every part of her ached. Her left arm was practically crippled and throbbing from the way it'd been pulled, tugged and bitten.

"Okay Scarlett." Scott's voice came from in front of her and she looked up at him with her mouth hanging open as she continued to gag. He was obviously angry and insulted, she could practically see his eye twitching. "Now you can pass out." Instead of smacking her in the head like she'd expected, Scott shoved her back onto the ground which she resisted by stumbling backward but couldn't when he kicked her feet out from underneath her. Then he kicked her in the side which resulted in her coughing again and rolling onto her side to escape another blow against her ribs. Her vision was already failing after the fall and now she was only semi-conscious as she laid there. Scott leaned over her and placed his hand over her mouth and constricted her nose.

The last thing she saw was that she had managed to knock out one of Scott's teeth when she'd been punching him and that at least was a very satisfying thought.

Scott watched as Scarlett finally succumbed to the unconsciousness he'd forced her to fight since the conflict began. He waved to Mikhail who hadn't moved from his spot at the corner of the block. Finally the large Russian made his way over to Scarlett and lifted her with ease.

"You let her get to you." Mikhail spoke without turning to look at Scott.

"I let her get nothing." Scott started walking back toward the bus stop where Scarlett had dropped her phone at the beginning of their struggle.

"Wipe off your face, you look like an animal." Mikhail spat before walking away with Scarlett. Scott picked up the phone and wiped his lips as instructed. Tony was still screaming on the other end of the phone.

"I would've expected you to hang up by now." Scott rolled his eyes and walked after Mikhail. Tony had spent the last twenty minutes, the longest twenty minutes of his life quite possibly, trying to use Scarlett's phone signal to locate her and then send the Russian police to help her. But the Russians had thought he was prank calling them and had ignored his pleas so Tony had put all remaining power in the Mark VII into his thrusters. But he knew he still had a few hours left to fly before he'd get there and it would be too late by then.

It seemed too late now.

"What did you do you son of a bitch? Where's Scarlett? What the hell is going on?" Tony was frantic. He'd heard several gunshots fired and was assuming the worst but then he'd heard yelling and fighting in the background. His only hope was that Scott was still as consumed with Scarlett as he had seemed in the scribbles on the apartment wall and wouldn't risk killing her. It would give Tony a chance to at least _try_ and save her.

"Calm down, Stark or your battery might die." Scott spat his words.

"I swear, if you hurt her…"

"You'll what? Kill me? Fat chance." Scott wasn't threatened in the least. "I dare you too."

"Don't push me, Scott."

"Oh, so you figured it out did you? Smarter than I thought. You know _much_ smarter. I thought the whole genius thing was a ploy."

"Don't change the subject, what the hell did you do to Scarlett?"

"You really want her back, huh? Just _need_ to know if she's okay." Scott stopped walking and watched Mikhail load up a Black SUV with Scarlett and various other suitcases that had been left around town. The perimeter had been rigged to give anyone leaving a jolt high enough to knock them out. They'd planned for Scarlett to arrive exactly when she had. Thanks to their information from S.H.I.E.L.D. she was an easy target.

"What do you want, Scott? What is it you want from her? From me?" Tony took deep breaths. He wasn't willing to negotiate with him but he would do whatever it took to find Scarlett and keep her safe if she was even still alive. His mind and heart were both rejecting the notion of her being anything otherwise.

"I already got what I want, Stark." Tony winced upon being called by his last name again. Only Scarlett could get away with that, what was this guy thinking? "The real question is, what do _you_ want and how badly?"

"I'm getting her back, one way or another." Tony faltered. He had no idea what MedCo wanted and this was exactly what Scarlett had been trying to prevent from happening. She didn't want him involved with MedCo and she most certainly didn't want him making the sacrifice play. He wasn't sure she would be able to live with the guilt of anything happening to him. But there were too many factors being left to chance for Tony. He had no idea what had happened or what kind of condition she would be in when he found her. Scarlett was obviously capable of caring for herself but if Scott had incapacitated her then she wouldn't be able to find a way out on her own.

Tony couldn't leave it to chance.

There was no time to waste. What if they experimented on her? What if they destroyed who she was? Tony couldn't lose another person in his life, not after he'd fought so hard to keep her in it.

"If you want her back, come and find her. I'm sure Mikhail would be more than happy to make a deal with the great and powerful Tony Stark." Scott hung up the phone without giving Tony a chance to respond with more questions. Then he smashed it beneath his feet and left it lying in the middle of the road next to the half destroyed Tesla device.

No one would be using that phone to find Scarlett, not even S.H.I.E.L.D. and especially not Tony Stark.


	28. The Big Guns

_[[Just another thanks for reading. Seriously, it means a lot!]]_

"Rhodes?" Tony sounded panicked on the other line after Colonel James Rhodes picked up the phone that had rang ten times in the last ten minutes. He'd finally answered the call so he could put an end to the seemingly eternal buzzing in his pocket. Holding his hand up to excuse himself to the others in the room, Rhodes turned around in his chair to have a bit of privacy. After having piloted the Mark III Iron Man suit that had been transformed by the military into what was now known as the WarMachine Rhodes, or more commonly known as Rhodey, had become an important military personnel.

Unfortunately this meant that he was busy ninety percent of the time.

When you're best friends with Tony Stark, he's not the type of person who is going to sit around and wait until the timing is right to communicate as was proven by the ten missed calls. This had often become problematic in the last year for Colonel Rhodes. But today, Rhodey did not have the time or the patience to deal with Tony's often erratic and troubling behavior. He was sitting in a board room in London with the United States Secretary of Defense as well as a few other members of the UN from European countries. The last thing he needed was for Tony to embarrass him in front of these people.

"Tony, I can't really talk right now." Rhodey whispered into the phone and then turned his head and mouthed an apology to the mixture of confused and judgmental glances that were being thrown his way by his company. It was too late. He was already embarrassed.

"But Rhodey this is _serious_…"

"Tony, you say it's serious every time you call and it is never actually serious. I really can't talk right now and I will call you later! Much, much later." Rhodey hung up the phone and shoved it into his coat pocket after silencing the ringer and then turned back to his company.

"Please excuse Colonel Rhodes. Sometimes his friendship with Mr. Stark causes disturbances at the most inopportune times." The Secretary of Defense chuckled and was met with the same amount of humor that he portrayed. Everyone knew about Tony Stark and what he was like from the press. Thankfully none of the important people in the room seemed too bothered by the billionaire's interruption. In fact, they seemed intrigued to have a change of topic.

"This happens often, I take it?" The British military officer was more amused than frustrated particularly after hearing the Colonel's exchange on the phone. There was a morbid curiosity hidden within even the most prevalent of noteworthy military figures when it came to Tony Stark. Before Rhodey could respond, the phone placed in the center of the table they were gathered around buzzed loudly.

"I hate to interrupt your meeting sirs, but there's a Mr. Stark on the line here and he's insisting he speak with Colonel Rhodes. He says it's urgent." The secretary spoke tentatively. The group had asked not to be interrupted as they discussed what action would be taken on the recent militant uprising in Syria. The UN wanted to intervene, or at least the European countries wished to but the US wasn't so sure it was their place. Recent press had vilified the United States' actions when it came to the matters of other countries. By the end of the meeting, Rhodey was hoping he would be able to sway the Secretary of Defense to allow their involvement. That was the sort of man James Rhodes was. He saw people in need of help and wanted to offer it if he could.

"Of _course_ he insists. Tony always insists." Rhodey grimaced then reached across the table to touch the button on the phone that would allow him to communicate with the receptionist when the military man who owned the office made no move to. "Tell him that whatever his _crisis_ is can wait twenty minutes and I'll call him back when I'm not doing something important."

"He really is insisting. He sounds worried. Started to tell me a bit of it…" The receptionist had obviously fallen for whatever charm Tony had worked on her as most women did.

Tony Stark and women.

That was practically a thousand page novel in and of itself.

"I'll get back to him I promise. Don't worry. He's not as charming as you think he is. It's very likely he just wants to bust my chops." Rhodey responded to a chorus of laughter from his company. He had a small bit of knowledge when it came to what Tony had been up to in the weeks prior and while it had been relatively dangerous and he'd recommended Tony stay out of it, he seriously doubted that whatever Tony needed was as urgent as he was making it out to be.

Leaning back in his chair, the handsome and well taken care of Colonel smirked, his brown eyes sparkling behind dark skin. Before he could make a witty remark and start on a humorous story about another time where Tony had interrupted his work something made everyone in the room jump.

The computer monitor on the other end of the room sprang alive from standby and Tony's face inside of the Mark VII armor appeared on camera.

"How many things do I have to hack before you pay attention to me, Rhodey?" Everyone's eyes were on the monitor staring back at them now but Tony couldn't see them through the screen and kept looking around on his screen in search of a response. He certainly had their attention now, he just didn't know it yet.

"Jarvis, yeah… Come on, webcam or something. I can't see a thing. We don't even know if we're in the same… ah there you are. Mister Secretary of Defense, you lost weight. Very nice to see you…" Tony turned his attention to the screen in front of him once Jarvis had accessed the webcam and had managed to relay the video feed to Tony along with any sound that may have been in the room. As for the moment, it was dead quiet. Everyone, with the exception of Rhodey, was in awe of how Tony had bypassed a high security computer in order to access it for a personal call.

"Tony, do you know how many laws you just broke?"

"Would you like me to list them chronologically or alphabetically, Rhodey?" Tony rolled his eyes and then peered around the room. "Well, this certainly looks important."

"I _told_ you I was busy, I'll call you back when we're done here." Rhodey was torn between being amused and frustrated with his friend. When it came to Tony, he had to take his actions with a grain of salt. He'd spent his whole life being above reproach thanks to his grand wealth and genius. If Rhodey had gotten angry every time Tony had done something stupid for personal gain, he would've had a heart attack a year into their friendship at MIT.

"No, Rhodey this _is_ important." Tony turned his attention back to his friend. About to tell Tony off for being irresponsible and interrupting military business, he stopped when he saw something in Tony's demeanor that threw him off and made him think twice. Tony was upset. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was pale. Why hadn't he noticed it at first glance? He'd thought it was just Tony being Tony.

"I'm sorry everyone, I'll be just one minute." Rhodey got up from his seat and picked up his phone. Tony was still manipulating the screen in front of him and spying on Rhodey and the company he kept. "Get off the damn computer, Tony."

"Pushy, aren't we? For someone who was _ignoring_ me you're making an awful lot of demands." Tony grumbled, a false smile on his lips after noticing how amused the others in the room were. If there was one thing Tony had mastered, it was remaining calm and collected in stressful social situations.

"I _swear_, Tony.."

"I would hate for you to have to do that. Nice seeing all of you… whoever you are. Secretary." The computer screen flickered to black and then returned to the screen saver of various British monuments that it had once been before Tony had tapped into it and used it to get Rhodey's attention.

"He's not going to let it go until I talk to him. Again, I'm sorry but this is going to take a few minutes." Rhodey bowed his head politely to the others who nodded to let him know it was okay. Apparently Tony had amused them enough that they didn't mind waiting while Rhodey took his personal call.

Once out of the office, Rhodey waved his hand at the secretary courteously then walked into the hallway and dialed Tony's cell phone.

"This _better_ be important because if it isn't Tony…"

"They took her, Rhodey." The calm façade Tony had put on in the boardroom faded entirely. He sounded weary, worse than that. He sounded _scared._ Flummoxed, Rhodey wasn't sure what to say at first. What did Tony mean _they took her_? He was being pretty vague for a guy who was panicked and usually long winded. "I know you told me not to linger in Afghanistan but I had some personal matters I needed to look into. And I know you told me not to pry too, but I'm not a very good listener obviously…. Well, that's not true. I listen pretty well, I just don't always care. Long story short, these people Scarlett was involved with…"

"MedCo, you mean? After we got off the phone that day I looked into them but S.H.I.E.L.D. got _very_ touchy about it. I was forced away from the information pretty quickly. It's nasty stuff, Tony… They've been upgraded to an International Terrorist Organization in the last two weeks and no one knew a damn thing about them before then. Well, everyone except for S.H.I.E.L.D. it seems who was sitting on this information. My boss is _not_ happy about that."

"I knew. I've known about them for awhile. Stane was dealing weapons with them and you know my little hobby there… the one we don't talk about because your moral compass actually points in the right direction while mine's well… not." Tony confessed after a moment spent hesitating. Rhodey's head was spinning with new information.

"Look, you're going to have to start being straight with me if you want my help. And what is it you think I can do to help you anyway? I told you, I don't know much about S.H.I.E.L.D. or MedCo. That's your area of expertise, if I recall."

"I'm not looking for intelligence or you to break any rules for me, Rhodes! MedCo took Scarlett. They _took_ her Rhodey and I need…" His voice drifted off as his screen flickered inside his helmet. He stopped midflight and hovered in the air. "Rhodey, are you still there?"

"Yeah, I am. What's going on?"

"Well be quiet, something's happening." Tony muttered. The screen flickered again and Jarvis spoke in a garbled voice. Electronic interference made his ears ring.

"There is an incoming transmission attempting to hack my systems, sir." Jarvis' voice was distorted and then returned to normal relatively quickly. "I managed to deflect it rather easily but I think that you should consider letting it through to listen to what is on the other line. I will make sure that any attempts to hijack our systems will be denied and run a trace."

"And why should I let it through, Jarvis?" Tony could feel his hands tingly and shaking. Panic wasn't the word for what he was feeling, it was sheer and utter _terror_. And even that didn't seem to be the right adjective. Description wasn't Tony's strong suit when his mind was racing a mile a minute.

"The transmission appears to be from someone who knows something about the whereabouts of Miss Damien. Heavy accent, my guess is that they are affiliated with MedCo."

"Let it through but if you let _anything_ but vocal and visual transmission through, I will wipe your programming, got it?" Tony threatened.

"This is a bad idea, Tony…" Rhodey scolded from the other end of the phone line. His stomach was starting to feel just as sick as Tony's was. Then there was the guilt he felt for brushing off his friend's attempts to contact him ten times in a row when the situation had _actually_ been serious for once.

"Tell me that when it's someone _you_ care about, okay?" Tony snapped at his friend who immediately shut his mouth on the other line. Rhodey knew it was true. He'd do anything to save Tony and Tony would do anything to save him. Even though Rhodey didn't know Scarlett yet, it was obvious Tony was willing to put his life on the line to get her away from MedCo. "Just be quiet until they're off the line. Let the transmission through, Jarvis."

"Mr. Stark." The face of a surly looking man, half balding but still somehow formidable looked back at him on the screen through lines of static. He spoke with a deep Russian accent and instantly Tony knew that this was the man who had come to Afghanistan once Scott had been driven out. Barakat couldn't have described him any clearer. "I believe I have something you want."

"What did you do to her? If you…"

"Spare me the trivial fretting, Mr. Stark it will only waste both of our time. You know I'm going to hurt her regardless of your empty threats. After the trouble she has caused me in the last two weeks, you'd be a fool to think she's getting out of this without shedding blood. That is non-negotiable. What I _am_ calling to discuss is how you can save her life." Tony gritted his teeth and tried to keep his cool but it was hard when he kept picturing the terrible things that were being done to _his_ Scarlett to make her pay for the trouble she'd caused.

"What is it you want from me?"

"An exchange."

"And what is it you think I have that I would exchange for Scarlett?"

"It is only fair that if I lose one genius I will need a replacement. You are faulty but will do for exchange."

"_Faulty?_ What the hell does that mean?"

"That thing in your chest is a liability but your genius far outweighs hers. A life for a life, it is only fair."

"Fine." Tony agreed immediately. There was no question in his mind that he would trade his life for hers if it came down to it.

"That was an awfully quick response for such an important decision. Perhaps you need some time to think it over, first?" Mikhail responded with a sly smile. Tony didn't think he could see him, but he felt like the Russian man was leering into his soul and could see his every weakness.

"What is there to think over? You took someone I love and the longer I wait the more you'll hurt her so why don't you cut the crap and tell me where to make the trade?" Tony's nerves were shot and his words venomous.

"At midnight tonight. You will receive coordinates on where to make the trade the same way I have transmission you now. If you do not come alone then you will be sure that Scarlett will suffer far worse than she already will. And trust me, she will suffer."

"What, not going to go old fashioned and threaten to kill her?"

"Why would I kill her, Mr. Stark?" Mikhail looked puzzled. "She's far too important, that would be a terrible waste. There are things she can provide me with that you _cannot._"

"Just keep your end of the bargain and I'll keep mine." Tony began on what promised to be a spectacular rant but the transmission from Mikhail was cut short and ended abruptly. Yelling, Tony punched at the air and fired his repulsors into the sky to try and kill some of the bubbling frustration in his system.

"Sorry sir, but it seems that gentleman didn't want to listen to what you had to say." Jarvis acknowledged after failing to revive the signal. Even the computer sounded pained. What the hell had Rhodey missed in the last month?

"Tony, you can't seriously consider trading your life for hers. Right?" Rhodey immediately interjected once Tony had stopped yelling. He wasn't sure he had ever heard him that frustrated before without alcohol in his system. "You know I'm not going to let you do that. Terrorists don't negotiate… You'd both end up dead."

"I'm not an idiot, Rhodes. They're never going to give me Scarlett, okay? Even if I gave them all my money and technology they would keep it _and_ her. But what I can do is guarantee that she'll at least be alive and functioning until midnight tonight now, can't I?" Tony's heart was still racing and the monitor on the corner of his screen was blinking annoyingly to let him know. Jarvis went out of his way to make him aware of how his health was being affected by this stressful situation.

"Well, what is it you plan to do? What do they want from her anyway?"

"She pissed them off! And her stupid ex… this is a _really_ long story, Rhodey and I don't have time to gossip. Are you going to suit up and help me or not? That's why I called. I can't do this alone."

Rhodey glanced at the door to the office that he'd left only moments prior. Could he _really_ leave the meeting now to go help Tony wherever he was? Of course he was going to, regardless of the consequences. Tony was his best friend and after listening to the call from MedCo he couldn't ignore his cry for help.

"Come on Rhodes, I need your help. You know I don't ask for it very often."

"You don't ask for it? _Seriously?_ You asked me to come over last month to untangle wires in your living room!"

"_Serious_ help. I didn't think you'd actually help with that… I was bored!" Tony drifted off. It was easy for him to mask his worry with jokes and humor but he was barely keeping afloat. He wasn't sure he had a clear enough head to do this alone. If it was just him he might do something stupid, like actually exchange his life for Scarlett's. She would be _so_ mad if he did that, wouldn't she? This was exactly what she had been trying to avoid and yet here he was, in too deep by his own making. But wasn't that part of being in a serious relationship? To be knee deep in each other's problems? To make sacrifices for the other?

Tony just wanted her to be safe. Was that so much to ask? And he'd failed to keep her safe thus far. Instead he'd gone off chasing her ghosts when where he needed to be was by her side saving her from her demons.

"What's the plan? What are we going to do?" Rhodey gave in and started down the hallway at a jog toward the lobby. He'd suit up and then contact the Secretary of Defense on his way to wherever the hell Tony was. "Where are you anyway? Still in the Middle East?"

"I'm en route to Moscow." Tony cleared his throat, relieved that his friend had finally agreed to help him. While he was grateful to be getting out of the desert, he wasn't looking forward to Russia either. He was pretty sure he wasn't looking forward to anything until the whole messy situation with MedCo had been cleaned up.

"Moscow?"

"That's where Scarlett's flight landed a few hours ago so I assume that's where they still are and if you give me… ten more seconds… ah, there we are. I traced that guy's phone signal. He tried to use a jammer to reroute his signal but I'm better than that. You'd think they'd try a little harder given who I am. Scarlett was right, it's almost an _insult_ they way they underestimate you…" Tony was rambling on and on now, and could've if Rhodey hadn't interrupted.

"Are you sure that this is what you want to do, Tony? Risk your life for this woman? She must be something…"

"Is this _really_ the time to get into that? Don't ask me if her life is worth the risk. I hope you're suiting up Rhodey because there is no time to have a heart to heart. Didn't you hear him? They're not going to spare her any pain simply because they think they're going to trade with me. The longer we wait, the worse she suffers."

"Just checking, Tony. You act on impulse sometimes and…"

"Would you like me to hesitate if it was your life in danger? Or would you prefer I continue acting on impulse?" Tony responded easily and Rhodey chuckled.

"Message received."

"I'll send you coordinates to the WarMachine. I'm already almost at my arrival point. Try to bring back up if you can. We're going to need it."

"They're going to make me contact S.H.I.E.L.D. if I ask for it."

"I don't care. Let them bring whoever they want. It's past that… secrecy, that whole line of bullshit I don't care anymore." Tony knew that decision could possibly bite him in the ass later, but he didn't care. Whatever fallout would happen after he'd saved Scarlett would be tolerable as long as he had her alive and well. "Rhodey this is important to me. Okay buddy?"

"Got it, Tony. No more questions, I promise. See you soon. Don't do anything stupid until I get there."

"You know me."

"Yeah, yeah… I can keep saying it and it changes nothing." Rhodey hung up his phone as he got into the WarMachine. Tony watched the line disconnect and continued on his way toward the coordinates he'd picked up from the call that had tried to throw him off course.

"Jarvis?"

"What can I do, sir? How can I help?"

"Three dimensional real time scan of those coordinates and the surrounding areas. I need to know as much as I can about this place before we get there."

"Already done, sir. Would you like me to find a place for you to rendezvous with the rebel group in contact with your men from Afghanistan?"

"Thinking ahead of me again, Jarvis. Sometimes it's scary how in tune we are."

"You designed me to think just like you, sir. Some would say you should've expected this."

"Who's the funny guy now?" Tony sighed and continued past Moscow, not bothering to even enjoy the beautiful silhouette of the city on the sinking skyline. Usually he would enjoy a trip to the scenic city, but now it appeared grim.

"One of us has to be." Jarvis illuminated a holographic map of the facility where the call source had traced back to. Thankfully for Tony, between his skills and Jarvis' he'd been able to pinpoint where the true call had come from. After watching Scarlett deal with the runaround for weeks from MedCo he knew better than to fall for any of their tricks, and that included the fake meet up for that night. If he couldn't figure out a way to get into the facility before the meet up he would use it to create a diversion.

And if Tony knew anything about MedCo they would likely do the same. There was no chance of them handing over Scarlett after how hard they had worked to get her back in the first place. No matter how badly they would want _him_ they wanted her worse for whatever reason. Tony's ego, for once, did _not_ mind being the secondary target. Though, he would much prefer to be the primary one but for reasons that were far less selfish than they would've been for him three years ago.

Then again, three years ago, Tony wouldn't have gone after Scarlett at all. He would've left her to die and be victim to the fate she'd brought on herself.

Much had changed in the life of Tony Stark, even in the last month, but the last three years? It told a very different story than the forty years before it. If nothing else, Tony was far prouder of the newer chapters than he had been of the older ones.

"There, what's that?" Tony acknowledged a series of older buildings near the facility on the map. "Are those MedCo's too?"

"They are, but thermal scans show they are unoccupied. Deeds have been recently purchased for the properties." Jarvis rattled off information as it was obtained. "It looks like they have the property but haven't removed the old textile factories that occupy it."

"That's where we meet up." Tony set up targeting on his flight system to take him there immediately.

"Isn't that a bit close to home, sir? You could be spotted and ruin any chances of saving both your life and Miss Damien's."

"Then we'll be careful, Jarvis." The headache settling into the back of Tony's head made him cringe. "If you have a better idea then I would sure like to hear it."

"I will set up the rendezvous point with the rebel group's leaders. Are you sure you want to involve them, sir?"

"Yeah I know it could be a set up but what other choices do I have? I can't go in there alone. If Scarlett couldn't handle them then I can't either. Even with the Mark VII shadowing me from afar, it's going to be an uphill battle to get both of us out of there alive."

"Shall I contact S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"I'm pretty sure S.H.I.E.L.D. knows, even if Rhodey didn't contact them. If they want to help, they'll help. Right now I have more important things on my mind." Tony continued planning with Jarvis for the next hour as he slowed down his flight pattern and triggered the stealth mode on his suit so that he would be undetectable by any radar that MedCo had surrounding their perimeter. Thankfully the abandoned factories were just that and it looked like they hadn't been touched at all by the company that had built a looming prison looking facility a short distance away.

It was far enough away that Tony still felt safe enough to talk but not far enough away that he felt it was safe enough to walk out in the open. The cloudy skies that had plagued Russia the whole day and had made visibility terrible on his flight over still lingered in the sky. By the time Tony removed his helmet inside of the abandoned warehouse closes to the MedCo building he was sweating up something fierce. He'd redirected the energy in the suit to the thrusters, forgoing his usual creature comforts that would accommodate his temperature and make the Iron Man suit seem more like a luxury car. After he landed in the factories he would allow it time to recharge the spent energy.

Tony spent the next half hour moving debris around the old factory to cover up the windows enough to obscure any movement he made inside of them. Once the rebels arrived and their men were led inside, it would be much easier to be detected. But Tony would do his best to keep that from happening. Within the stealth suit were several small capsules that he could place around a large area and cast an electronic net that would prevent anyone from overhearing what was going on within, obscure radar scans and basically keep whatever they were doing inside invisible.

He'd always wanted to use the trinket but didn't think he'd have the occasion. Now that he was getting to, the wonder was lost. He had managed to occupy his mind for awhile and prevent thinking about what was happening inside the building to Scarlett. Hell, he'd even considered that maybe it was all a ploy and Scarlett had been moved far enough away that he wouldn't get to her even if he managed to get past the guards, the Russian thug, and Scott. But he couldn't think that way. Tony had to try and be optimistic. That was pretty hard for him to do, considering he played out the scenarios every possibility in his head over and over even as he was working around the textile factory.

There were very few outcomes that ended with him and Scarlett in bed and he didn't like those odds, not in the least. But again, optimism was something he had to keep on forcing. If Scarlett didn't get out alive, then what could he possibly do? A life without her was something he was finding impossible to fathom. How had he even survived without her in his life beforehand? It was strange, but it was like the entire possibility of it seemed completely idiotic. Tony _had_ to save her life. Without hers, there was nothing left of his and that was motivation enough to keep him going.

"Sir, there are a handful of rebels on their way in. I've given them very distinct directions for arrival. If they see anything suspicious they will turn back and draw attention away."

"Yeah, I'm sure that'll be easy to do as armed as they promised they'd be." Tony scoffed but paced the floor, making himself busy relocating some old machinery he had already relocated twice while he waited. Every hour that passed, every minute that ticked by, something awful was happening to Scarlett across the way. The longer he waited, the worse things would get. How long would they wait before they did irreparable harm to her? Tony couldn't think about it. If she could survive what had happened to her in Afghanistan for weeks than she could survive what was going on in that building for a few hours.

He hated thinking that way, but it was the only option. Running in without backup would do nothing but get them both killed and that wasn't an option either. The only option for Tony was getting them both out alive and taking her home with him.

"Sir, the first group of rebels has arrived." Tony turned and shook out his sweaty hair, walking toward the handful of men and women who walked cautiously through a door that Tony had half propped open so that they wouldn't have to repeatedly open and close something to get in. There were seven in total, three women and four men. The man in front was clearly the leader. Tall, slender and with defined cheek bones he had very kind eyes but looked hardened and ready for battle. Each was armed to the teeth and obviously ready for a fight.

"No offense, but we need to talk a bit before I trust you." Tony knew that in the end he had to trust the group coming to aid him or there would be no one to back him up for a few hours. Where was Rhodey with WarMachine? If the military would've let him work on the damn thing then he would've been there by now. Tony had offered to add in the thruster acceleration booster along with the stealth technology he'd developed but his request had been denied on multiple occasions. He'd even offered to break into the military facility to do the upgrades if Rhodey would help him, but the Colonel wasn't like Tony in that respect. Rhodes always followed the rules. In a way he was the yin to Tony's yang and while sometimes that was frustrating, in moments like this it was just what Tony needed.

"No offense taken. I don't trust you either." The leader spoke with a heavy Russian accent. "I was contacted by my man in Afghanistan. I reached out to him a few weeks ago when I discovered the lengths of MedCo's treachery. After I saw that his group had driven out the men poisoning their water I knew I could use them for information in that part of the world. Their situation was not the same as the one I have seen over and over on countless occasions, but it was similar enough that I had a feeling it was the very beginnings of what MedCo has now become."

"And how do you know so much about them? How do I know you don't work for them?" Tony nodded to the building across the way. Obviously they had to know what was going on inside of that building. Maybe they knew much more than Tony did and would be able to provide him with information that would help him save Scarlett. That was if they were on the level. For all Tony knew they _could_ be working for MedCo and he would be dead in a few short minutes.

Well, he'd be under attack. His suit would save him from just about anything short of a nuclear weapon and he doubted that even MedCo was that foolish. There was the pulse gun they'd fired on him weeks ago, but he'd rebuilt his suit so that there was a change to the start up system and he would be able to manually reset it from within the suit. The last thing he wanted was to be a sitting duck again. Scarlett wasn't there standing by a computer to save his life like she had been last time. Had he ever thanked for that? He couldn't remember. Though he did remember screaming at her and her denting the hell out of one of his favorite hot rods with a lamp. She'd paid for the damages just as she had promised she would, but he wasn't sure he had ever _really_ said thank you. And if he had said thank you, he was pretty sure that it had only been in an attempt to get her naked.

"Well that's the thing, Mr. Stark… I _did_ work for them." The Russian man offered a kind smile then set down his weapons one by one until he was completely unarmed. "I was a thug for them, though I had no idea what it is that they did. You see I was a poor man and they take advantage of people in need of money. I have a family that I love very much and I needed the cash. But I was a criminal. Not every country is forgiving of stupid things a young man does when they don't know any better. So I worked for MedCo. I turned a blind eye and for awhile it was alright. They seemed almost like a good company."

"Yeah, did you see they recently got bumped up to International Terrorist Organization? Not so benevolent now."

"Only because they wanted to be noticed at long last. They are not afraid of acknowledgement anymore, Mr. Stark. Not after their priorities changed a month ago."

"And you know that because you worked for them?"

"I watched people die by their hand." The Russian man grew serious and held out his palms. "Good people. I justified it at first thinking that maybe they were monsters who were being brought to justice by MedCo but _no_… women, men… innocent and thinking they were there to work were being imprisoned and then experimented on and killed. One showed me kindness. Bravery, even." He held his chin proudly and then closed his eyes. "That is what changed my mind. Why couldn't _I_ be brave? They scared me, Mr. Stark. I was afraid of what they would do to my family if I rebelled."

"I knew it didn't matter who I was. They didn't care about me or my family or if I was working for them or not. No one was safe from MedCo, not even those who thought they were. I left the company and moved my family somewhere safe and hidden. With the help of a few friends from my youth, the same ones who got me into such trouble that I couldn't get a job, I changed their identities and then came here. There were others like me… some who have worked for them and some who have been harmed by them."

"Some of us just saw what they were doing and knew it was wrong." The woman behind him had a soft French accent and a kind face. She didn't look like the kind of woman who should be ready for battle, but she was just as armed as her cohorts.

"We come from all reaches of life, Mr. Stark but we all have one common goal and that is to put a stop to these monsters. The law will not do it, so we will take the law into our own hands. Much like you do with your Iron Man suit."

"That's not… _quite…_ what I do…" Tony drifted off but knew in a way it was the same sort of vigilante justice that he sought out on a regular basis.

"My contact told me that Tony Stark wanted to find out more about MedCo. He said that you needed to help someone who was taken by them and we are happy to help. My name is Sergei. This is Gina, Dominic, Irena, Adrian, Pavlov and Renate. They are my inner circle and the rest will be on their way shortly. We have fifty strong men and women who will join us."

"That's not a lot." Tony sighed, though he wasn't sure the abandoned warehouse could shadow even that many people.

"There are not many here who are willing to stand up to these people. It is easier to do as you're told and hope you are spared. Not everyone is willing to put their lives on the line for a cause, Mr. Stark. But we are and I hope that we can trust each other at least until we are done here." Sergei offered his hand to Tony who hesitated but then took it when Jarvis reported he could detect no deceit in the man's voice or in his story. While Tony may not have trusted these men and women in front of him, he trusted Jarvis and would be on his guard for as long as he could be.

"Sergei, it looks like we're going to be working together. What do you have for me on this place? Is this new to you?" Tony nodded toward the building looming in the dark clouds and setting sun.

"Not new at all. They've been building it for longer than I've been running this group. I heard about it first when I was working in another facility in a different country. That is why I came here. This is the heart of their company. It started out small and soon they were buying up all the land even some of the towns nearby. Some land owners fought, like those who had owned this textile company you chose as our meeting place. But they mysteriously died and the land went to auction which MedCo was conveniently there to obtain the deeds to." Sergei nodded toward Adrian who came forward with a black tube. When he opened it blue and white schematics fell onto the table nearby.

"This is what we have obtained from public records and satellite imagery. One of our girls was able to hack their systems without being noticed long enough to obtain some security footage. There are errors in the schematics, obviously things that MedCo couldn't report to a legitimate contractor. So whoever helped them build was obviously on the take and obtaining fake permits and creating false schematics." Adrian pointed to several areas on the schematics that had been drawn over in red marker that stained a faded purple on the blue paper.

"After having spent extended time in other MedCo locations due to my career, I was able to pinpoint where they would have hidden experiments and prison cells that wouldn't be legal to build obviously. It's a guess since we have only limited communication to the inside." Sergei pointed to the lower levels of the schematics and where they had drawn out prison cells.

"Wait, what?" Tony widened his eyes and stopped him from continuing to speak. "Communication is communication however limited it is… there's someone inside there _talking_ to you? You infiltrated MedCo?"

"No, a man contacted _us_. We have met with him on several occasions and he has since provided us with information at great cost to his life. We did not trust him at first but he has proven to be very useful and has gotten several of our people out of containment during faulty missions." Sergei nodded to confirm. "Now I trust him with my life. I tried to contact him once I was contacted by your… butler was it?"

"Jarvis, not my butler… very complicated. But yeah…"

"But he has not gotten a chance to get back to me. I imagine that he will likely not be much help in this situation. Once we get inside, it is possible he will be willing to blow his cover to help us, depending on how promising the odds are. Even if we do not succeed with our mission it is possible we will cause enough of a disturbance to prompt international involvement."

"No offense, but I'm already trusting too many people I don't know so I'm not going to hold my breath for some guy you think _might_ be helpful on the inside." Tony turned his attention toward the building that he saw through the window again and could only hope that the men and women now joining him and multiplying as time passed wouldn't betray him or end up being the reason Scarlett died in the long run.

"None taken. I am surprised you trust us at all. Whoever is in there must be very important to you." Sergei stood next to Tony and the genius nodded before turning his attention back to him.

"I have to save her." Tony exhaled deeply and tapped his fingers against the suit. "I don't have a choice but to trust you until my friend gets here. He's bringing US military back up… whatever they'll lend me and I'm not sure it'll be much considering my reputation."

"It must be a very good friend."

"He is." Tony was about to elaborate but as if he'd heard them talking about him, Rhodey called from within the suit. "Gather your men, I have a call to take." Tony walked away and flipped the helmet of his suit back up so that he could speak to Rhodes in private.

"Tony, I'm on my way. I'll be there as soon as I can but I got hung up in London. After I ditched out on the meeting earlier I got grounded by the Secretary of Defense. They thought I was running to help you with something trivial and it took every bit of string pulling I have in my power but I will be there in the next few hours. There might be back up, I can't tell if they were serious about helping me or not. Plus getting US troops into Russian without them thinking we're up to something? That's pretty hard to do. I contacted S.H.I.E.L.D. but they didn't seem to have the time for me. Apparently something big is happening."

"I have a pretty good feeling I know what S.H.I.E.L.D. is dealing with and we'll see them before the night is over." Tony couldn't help but look around suspiciously at the men and women who were joining him. They looked average, none of them warriors. Was he leading them to their deaths? But they wanted to help and so he would let them. Tony couldn't do this alone. He needed every bit of assistance that he could get. He couldn't explain it but he had a good feeling about Sergei. The man's story seemed just crazy enough to be true.

"I don't know if I'm going to make it before the drop time Tony, please don't do something stupid."

"This is why you should bring that thing in for maintenance every few weeks, Rhodes. You know I can do better than those military assholes can. No offense." Tony gritted his teeth in dismay. Rhodey was who he was counting on.

He _needed_ Rhodey to help him here.

"Yeah I know, but they won't let me, okay? Look… they gave me the run around they always give me when it comes to you. People are still burned that you dropped out of the munitions business."

"It's alright. I've got all the backup I need at the moment." Tony furrowed his brow. "Except for Scarlett, I could really use her help right now. She'd be better at this than I am. Or you, I'm not a… team leader, you know. I just want to save her." Grimacing, Tony had to remind himself again not to panic. There would be time for panicking and emotional break downs later. Right now he had to try and think about what Scarlett would do if the tables were turned.

Scarlett would've already saved him, he guessed.

"What does that mean? You have back up? Is S.H.I.E.L.D. there? Is that why you were being so cryptic about them?"

"No, no… I befriended some rebels in Afghanistan… Well not really befriended since they're a bunch of douche nozzles that did some pretty unspeakable things… They had some allies here and offered their services as recompense for what they've done in the past. It's sketchy I know but the enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?"

"No Tony! The enemy of your enemy is _still_ your enemy." Rhodey sounded frantic. "You've got to get out of there. It could be a trap and you are not in the mental state to deal with this right now."

"Do you think I haven't thought of that? Look, I'm not stupid Rhodes. You know that as well as I do. I calculated the risks and my odds suck but the odds that I'm going to be okay if I don't do this are smaller than that! Got it?" Tony practically shouted inside his helmet. Rhodey was so taken by surprise that he was silenced on the other end.

"You are _so_ seeing a shrink after this." Rhodey finally spoke up once he'd gotten past the surprise of being yelled at by Tony.

"Only if you do too, buddy." Finally Tony's heart calmed down. He knew the risks and had weighed them repeatedly in his mind. The last thing he needed was Rhodey shouting at him about numbers when he knew the math by heart. "Look I know I shouldn't trust them and I don't entirely but I can't explain it. I just have a good feeling about it."

"Your good feelings usually end up with me waking up in some hotel room unable to find my pants and not remembering the night before."

"You weren't complaining about the women you woke up with, if I recall." Tony countered and Rhodey at last laughed though Tony could still hear the edge in his voice. Before Tony could respond, there was a loud familiar sound from somewhere outside.

It was gunfire.

"What is that Tony? What's going on?"

"Gotta go Rhodey." Tony disconnected the call and pulled down his helmet so he could communicate with the rebels more easily. Frantic yelling from the same direction as the gunfire could be heard. From the sounds of it there was only one voice there.

"Mr. Stark!" Sergei who had climbed some of the equipment Tony had moved around to get a better look waved him over.

"What's going on out there?" Tony furrowed his brow. Taking off his armor, Tony let the suit stand on its own, eyes still glowing and waiting for orders remotely under Jarvis' control. Carefully Tony climbed onto the same equipment Sergei was standing on and together they pushed the top window open enough of a crack so they could hopefully hear more clearly what was going on in the space between the two buildings.

"There's a man." Sergei nodded toward a lone silhouette holding an assault rifle and firing repeatedly in the air, obviously to gain attention. "He's out of his mind." They watched as he fired again in the air and continued yelling.

"Tony Stark!" Tony couldn't see the face from where he was, but he knew the voice immediately.

Scott was standing outside with a loaded gun, waiting for Tony to show up. He was looking around in every direction. This was a good thing; it meant that he had no idea where Tony was hiding. But how had they known that Tony wasn't going to wait for the exchange time to try and get his hands on Scarlett? Had it been _that_ predictable a move for him to come and try to find his way in before the exchange was made? The people at MedCo were much smarter than Tony was giving them credit for.

Tony could guarantee that he was smarter.

"Tony Stark!" Scott shouted again, throwing the weapon aside as if to challenge Tony without it. "I know you're here! Show yourself!"

"Who is that man?" Sergei breathed, not taking his eyes off of their new enemy.

"Very bad news," Tony whispered, trying to reformulate his plan in his mind. So much for taking MedCo by surprise and using the exchange as a distraction. This could still work if Tony played his cards right and if he could keep Scott from trying to kill him the moment he stepped into view.

"Stark, don't be a coward!" Scott's voice sounded unnatural and vicious as he shouted. "It's time to come out and play."


	29. Inside Man

_[[Sorry I'm a little late. My family is in town and we bottled some wine we had in a barrel since 2011. In other news, I'm thinking of doing some one-shots and posting random nonsense for these stories on my blogs, as well as doing a "ask a character" art thing. Follow me on tumblr at .com for art and my personal blog or .com specifically for writing updates!]]_

When Scarlett regained consciousness it wasn't at all how she had hoped or what she had expected. Instead, it was thanks to her body sending panicked signals of pain every which way. Eyes snapping open she immediately regretted giving into her instincts. The ice cold water she'd been dunked in burned her eyes and she instantly closed them and shouted in pain, another action she regretted considering she was under water.

There was a hand on the back of her head, gripping her hair to hold her underneath since she'd tried to pull away from what was causing her pain. Choking on the water that had passed through her lips in her attempt to cry in anguish, Scarlett did the only thing she could think of. She thrashed violently. Throwing her arms out she reached for the edge of whatever was holding the water, it was smooth and metallic and just as cold as the water inside of it.

Still it was her ticket to being able to breathe, and the water in her lungs, as cold as it was, was creating a panic she couldn't escape. Fighting the hand on the back of her head, Scarlett kicked at whoever was behind her and swung her arms wildly. She at last managed to break free of the grip in her hair and then finally escaped the water. Inhaling greedily, she found there was too much water in her throat to breathe so instead leaned hunched forward and coughed, spitting out as much of the water as she could before it made its way into her lungs. It was hard enough to breathe before she'd been dunked under water and had ice cold water in her windpipe, with it had been nearly impossible. Still was as she coughed and gagged, unable to do much else than that.

Usually in this situation, Scarlett would be on her guard and ready to fight her way out. She'd know in an instant how many villains were in the room, what she would have to do in order to escape and would locate her best exit. But Scarlett wasn't herself. The fight with Scott had broken her spirit and her arm was throbbing miserably thanks to how she'd thrashed about. No one had bothered to tend to the gunshot wound so it'd crusted over and there was blood dried along her arm. At least it had stopped bleeding on its own.

But whoever was torturing Scarlett, and as she finally looked up she saw that it was Mikhail, was well on their guard. She had been allowed to step back and breathe since she had been startled awake. Blinking her sore and swollen eyes she stared up at Mikhail, still hunched over. Her stomach was tender and aggrieved from being kicked around so many times and her flesh burned from the temperature difference outside of the cold water. She shook her head to try and ward off the pins and needles traveling throughout her face.

Mikhail was staring at her expectantly, no emotion behind his gray eyes as he watched her every move. The defensive part of her mind was telling her she should say something snarky about her condition but instead she coughed and felt water dripping over her lips instead of words. Her reflexes weren't working with her, not yet. The fight on the suburban streets of Russia had taken too much out of her and she wasn't recovering as quickly as she had hoped. It was an unfortunate consequence of getting older, being kicked around, and being sick.

"Can you breathe?" Mikhail asked, leaning over and looking mildly startled that she hadn't lashed out at him. The Scarlett he'd crossed a month ago would've come at him the moment she caught her breath. Something had changed.

Reluctantly she nodded, trying to gather her bearings. "Good." Standing upright, Mikhail straightened his sport coat and nodded to a pair of guards nearby. Each guard grabbed one of her arms and dragged her back to the basin that she'd broken free from. It was filled with water and ice and she resisted instantly, recalling the pain of the water in her lungs. Twisting her hand free from one of the guards, she stomped on the foot of the second.

Mikhail grabbed her hair and the gunshot wound on her left arm to weaken her. She howled in agony as the crusted over wound burst from the pressure of his hand and bled freely again. Before she could retaliate her head was shoved far beneath the water that she had desperately hoped to avoid. This time she'd at least had warning so she was able to hold her breath and close her eyes tightly. They had still burned from the freezing water getting in them before but now she would at least be prepared for the shock, depending on how long they chose to hold her underwater that was. Clearly this torture had been designed to wake her up, but she didn't quite understand _why_ it was happening in the first place. She'd fully expected to come to in a drug ridden stupor after some procedure had been done to her.

If she had to guess only a few hours had passed since the fight in Suburbia, if that.

Eyes clamped tightly shut, Scarlett's lungs begged for air much quicker than she'd thought they would. The ice water was making her shiver and tremble and though she shoved and pulled at those holding her, she was only pushed further beneath the water. If they didn't let her up soon she'd have to inhale and she'd already almost drowned once in the last ten minutes, she had no desire to do it again. The longer she struggled to breathe, the worse she felt. Her stomach churned and felt sick, her throat was burning with vomit she refused to release, and her heart was pounding so hard in her ears she was sure it was going to explode or stop dead.

Just when she thought she was going to have no choice but to inhale and deeply at that, she was pulled up from the water by her hair. The tug hurt her already pounding head, but being under that water, even for just a few seconds had properly woken her up from the unconsciousness that had lingered on her thoughts. When she was brought up for air she breathed in greedily. Mikhail released her hair but the guard next to her was still holding her so she wouldn't escape.

Angry, Scarlett let him get close enough to check her pulse and then grabbed onto his wrist. She twisted it unnaturally and swung him in between her and the basin. She then head butted him hard in the face, knocking him back and almost sending him flying into the ice water. The second guard grabbed for her but she stumbled sloppily out of the way just in time and knocked him hard in the jaw. Unfortunately her left arm buckled under the contact and she saw stars. It had been easy to forget that her arm was injured when she'd been so panicked underneath the cold water. Still she somehow managed to be on her guard as the first guard regained himself.

But Mikhail was quick to react and grabbed her hair with unnatural strength. She was dragged back to the water basin that she hadn't managed to move far enough away from despite her attempts. He was cursing in Russian but Scarlett wasn't listening and only knew bits and pieces of the language so it was impossible for her to translate more than common swear words. Stomping on his foot, Scarlett grunted as the guards grabbed her arms again to keep her from thrashing. He grunted in annoyance as she slammed his foot a second time but persisted. Mikhail purposely smashed her head on the top of the basin to teach her what would happen if she continued to resist.

Dizzy with blood dripping into her eye, Scarlett braced herself for contact with the ice water again, rushing to hold her breath so that she would last as long as she was sure she would be held under. Mikhail pushed her under the water with more force than the previous times. Half of her body was practically underneath the water from how hard she was being shoved. The little remaining air she had managed to hold escaped her lips in bubbles and she struggled against Mikhail's grip in order to break free to no avail. She couldn't handle being dunked under again after this. Something in her head was sending off panicked alarms, warning her that if she went under a fourth time she wouldn't be able to hold her breath and would actually drown.

When Mikhail lifted her back up again, her head spun. Would she really be able to fight like this? She'd hoped that after she'd succumbed to the beating Scott had given her she would have some time to recuperate and reevaluate her situation. Twisting free now that she was slippery and wet was easy enough to do, so Scarlett broke away from the men holding her arms and turned, swinging blindly toward Mikhail.

But her balance was worse than she thought and she missed entirely and stumbled backwards. Trying again to hit him, Scarlett found that she was unable to and placed her hands on her knees, coughing up the water that had gotten into her lungs the first time she'd been dunked beneath the freezing water. Her head was pounding from the constant temperature changes and her teeth were chattering when she wasn't coughing. Chest aching, Scarlett couldn't find any relief despite how much she continued to cough. Her body was shivering and in over drive, the water having drenched her black coat, dripping down the rest of her and making her nerves twitch.

Standing up straight she decided that staying on the defensive was the right idea, considering she had little to no strength left. But it only took a few seconds for her to lean over and start coughing again. The cold feeling of the water that she'd inhaled wouldn't go away and she continued to gag so hard she nearly fell over. Mikhail shook his head in disappointment, showing no other emotion than that. Then he nodded to the two masked guards, one who had his mask rolled up over his nose since Scarlett had busted his lip when she'd head butted him. The two grabbed her with ease and dragged her backwards and away from the basin. Scarlett was only partially relieved. Water torture sucked, but it was a breeze in comparison to at least at thousand other things Scarlett could think of. If she hadn't been sick, then it wouldn't have been nearly as much of a struggle as it had been.

Apparently she had pissed MedCo off enough that they weren't going to spare her any suffering. Recounting the last few weeks, she could see _why_ they wouldn't want to keep whatever experiments they were going to do painless for her. As much as being stuck in another hellish torture sounded like a nightmare, it would at least give her the opportunity to try and escape before anything terrible had been done to her. Well, more terrible than being beaten and abused that is. Scarlett was trying to look on the bright side of things and it was much harder to do when she was being strapped to a metallic chair in the center of a room designed for imprisonment and torture. Though her head was still spinning and one eye refused to focus she managed to take in her surroundings.

There were chains hanging from the ceiling, presumably so she could be whipped at some point. The water basin was near the door along with a table where several instruments of torture were sprawled out, she assumed to pose a threat. They likely wouldn't leave those in there with her when they were done with her if they chose to leave her alive. She would be too much of a menace with any tool they provided her. Unfortunately, it seemed that MedCo had learned that lesson twice now in the past. They'd held her once in Afghanistan and while she had been helpless for weeks she had still managed escape, by mere determination and then again in South Africa where they had chosen to provide her with the very tools that had aided her on her way out.

She guessed she wouldn't be afforded that luxury a third time. Her ankles were bound to the chair she sat on and her hands were tied behind her back so she wouldn't be able to lash out again. Her left arm was done for the time being anyway. Even though she tried to move it, and her fingers obeyed the order, she couldn't feel them well enough to get anything accomplished. She guessed that her grip strength was going to only get worse as the blood dripped down her arm. Plus she was so damn cold that she could barely feel her fingers on her right hand either. Never in her life had she wished to get rid of her jacket so desperately.

Finally able to put the room back in focus, Scarlett realized the absence of the one person she had expected to be there for every moment of her torture. Scott was nowhere to be found. She'd really _expected_ him to be there as the person to comfort her so that he could finally rescue that damsel in distress he'd claimed to clean up after for years. Anger surged within her again at the betrayal of someone she'd made the executive decision to trust. Talk about causing major issues, how was she supposed to trust _anyone_ after this? But where was the slimy bastard if not watching her? If she got out of there, she was going to hunt him down and show him just how vicious she could be.

Tony had once accused her of being obsessed with vengeance.

Back then he'd been wrong but now she was _so_ consumed with vengeance she found that she was gritting her teeth at the mere idea of finding Scott. How could she have ever felt guilty for what had become of him? He'd brought so much suffering down on her head over the years and didn't bat an eye! Why couldn't she have been this angry when she'd first found out… and more importantly when she'd had a gun?

"Miss Damien." Mikhail finally spoke, drawing her attention back to him and away from the spot in front of her she'd chosen to focus on during her musings. She hadn't even bothered examining the left side of the room after she'd realized Scott wasn't there. Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of a cot that looked eerily familiar to the world's least comfortable cot that had been provided for her during her imprisonment in Afghanistan. Did every terrorist organization shop at the same Ikea or something?

Scarlett finally turned her attention fully on Mikhail since he seemed to be waiting on her to do so. Cocking an eyebrow curiously she coughed and waited for him to continue. Whatever he had to say Scarlett didn't care. She was _so_ done with MedCo and the people who ran it that she felt there was very little left to say. The game of cat and mouse had ended and it had been made clear just what role she'd been given.

Tony was right. She should've involved SHIELD and she should've let him help when he offered the chance. They could've gotten it done from the safety of his basement workshop together. Instead she'd insisted on pulling old tricks and chasing after ghosts when she could barely keep her mind straight and get some damn sleep.

"No greeting? Awfully rude, aren't we?"

"You just stuck my head in a pool of ice water. I think if it's a contest you _won._" Scarlett managed to find her voice at last which was scratchy from having coughed so much. Plus there was still that nasty cling of near frozen water in her throat that was threatening her windpipe.

"Ailing and frail and still haven't lost that spunk of yours. It is a relief to see. When you missed with that sloppy punch I was starting to worry about you." Mikhail didn't look worried at all, in fact he was stoic. Once again Scarlett became nervous of what he was capable of. He'd never gotten enraged with her. He'd never even rose his voice to her. Instead he'd remained calm through every confrontation and had barely blinked an eye when she had been getting the best of Scott for the brief few seconds she'd managed to gain the upper hand.

Sociopaths were scary as hell and Scarlett was not at all pleased to be caught in the grasp of one.

"Well, you know me… people pleaser and all." Scarlett coughed, clearing her throat of the ever annoying cling that made it harder to breathe.

"I have a few questions for you, Miss Damien. The next few minutes will be as painful as you choose for them to be."

"Oh goodie. This should be _great._" Scarlett grumbled, closing her eyes. She was never good at this part of being held captive. Interrogations never ended well for Scarlett, not in a single situation she could think of. Even spirited debates usually ended badly for her most of the time. It wasn't like she could help the insulting things that came out of her mouth faster than her brain could think them up. Sometimes being quick witted was a massive curse.

"What is it that Tony Stark knows about us?" Mikhail stood in front of her, his arms crossed over his chest. The guards stood on either side of her and waited for her to strike out. Apparently Mikhail had learned a little bit at long last when it came to dealing with Scarlett's mannerisms.

"What?" Scarlett furrowed her brow, trying to wrap her mind around the question "What do you mean? What does Stark have to do with this?" Tony's name was one she was hoping she wouldn't hear. It was as she feared. He was too far involved now to get out scot free.

"What have you told him? How did you get in contact with him in the first place? Your escape in South Africa, you can't expect me to believe that was coincidence. Iron Man shows up on the same day you blow Erick's brains out…"

"Have you ever considered that maybe he's just _much_ smarter than you think he is? I thought he worked for you back then, so I didn't tell him a damn thing." Scarlett wasn't exactly lying when it came to that part of the story. Tony had shown up in South Africa on his own volition after having discovered that his ex-business partner Obadiah Stane had been working with the company under his nose to smuggle out munitions from Stark Industries and sell them for an expanded profit to terrorist organizations. Tony had been trying to make amends for the wrongs he'd done over the years including having ignored that his weapons had ended up in the hands of people who had no problem harming women and children as well as American soldiers.

It was simply coincidence that he'd picked Scarlett up out of the desert.

Wasn't it?

Now was not the time for Scarlett to be questioning the validity behind Tony's story. She trusted him, didn't she? But then again she'd trusted Scott and this was the third time he'd managed to put her in a prison cell.

She'd trusted him and look where it had gotten her.

"I told you not to take me for a _fool_." Mikhail spat his words. Was Scarlett _finally_ irritating him? This was both a comfort and a threat for Scarlett. She had barely said anything and he was practically growling at her. Maybe the menacing glare he threw her was a design meant to threaten her. Either way, she wasn't going to show him that it bothered her. Besides, she was too busy over-thinking everything to care.

"Trust me, I know you're not a fool. But even so what does it matter what Tony knows? I'm obviously the bigger threat here." Scarlett's head was pounding for a variety of reasons. The bump on the top of her head from being smacked against the basin of ice water was throbbing unpleasantly.

"You were in contact with SHIELD the other morning. What is it you told them when you met with their little agent? On that ship you burned to the ground setting us back a year in experiments… what did you show them from within?" This time Scarlett stayed quiet. MedCo was _panicking_! But _why?_

She thought they didn't care much about anonymity anymore! Considering they'd poisoned _how_ many people in the last few weeks, she didn't think that stealth was their number one concern. Attacking Tony Stark at a charity benefit weeks ago with robots, making no attempts to disguise who they were or why they were there wasn't exactly the move made by a group of people trying to remain in the shadows.

It seemed like Mikhail didn't exactly agree with some of the decisions that were being made by his peers or at least that is what Scarlett would've guessed by his demeanor. Obviously something else had set him off, something bigger than Scarlett throwing a wrench in the gears of a well oiled machine. If that machine _had_ been well oiled then he would've had no reason to panic when she'd informed SHIELD of their attempts to play God.

"What did you _tell_ them?" Mikhail hunched over her, grabbing the back of the chair and sitting a good six or so inches away from her face, but letting her know he meant business. "Did you show them pictures, files, data? There's no record of it that we can find." Scarlett simply stared and kept her lips sealed for the time being.

What did it matter? She was trying to rack her brain for the answer. The only thing she could think of was that she'd inadvertently found something they were still trying to hide, but what could it be? Or maybe it had something to do with the horrible zombie creature that she'd discovered on the ship and had nearly lost her life to.

Either way, Scarlett didn't think any answer she gave Mikhail would make things easier on her so she kept her blue eyes on him and tried to think her way out of her cell. She had to get Mikhail to leave her alone. Until he did, she wouldn't be able to even dream of escaping. Mikhail shoved the back of the chair, making it slide against the concrete which made Scarlett's ears ring and turned away from her. Teetering in the chair dangerously Scarlett leaned forward in hopes of preventing her balance from being lost. He walked over to the table of tools that had been laid out to use for torture and picked up a pair of scissors.

"You know our engineers have developed some great and terrible things that can be used to get the truth from you, Scarlett. I could get answers from you in ten minutes if I wanted to brutalize you. But you are worth more than a few answers so you should consider yourself very lucky. Besides, I prefer simpler methods. They're not as quick, but far more satisfying." Mikhail held up the scissors so that she could see them but didn't turn to face her. Scarlett turned her gaze instead to the guards that would surely be there to hold her down for whatever he was planning to do. Her stomach churned at the idea of being tortured again. Closing her eyes didn't help either. All she could see were the bright lights overhead in a room where she was strapped to a table and being tortured in her mind. It was clear she'd barely recovered from the first bout of torture in Afghanistan. Would she really make it through a second time?

Snapping her eyes open her breathing became rapid very quickly. She found herself repeating not to panic over and over again in her mind until finally the ringing in her ears that she'd suffered became the only remaining symptom of the attack. If she stayed on her guard she'd be okay. She'd gotten out of this once before, she could get out again couldn't she?

"I'm more hands on than most. My tools are more practical, everyday devices. Like these, for example. Not designed for torture I know, but really a beautiful device for delivering pain. One stab…" Mikhail slammed his hand against the table as if to prove a point. "Two blades so the wound is more substantial but then… then you open the handle." He did and the heavy bladed scissor creaked purposely. "Your skin rips, organs destroyed in one blow. You will scream, Scarlett. You will _beg _to be free. The internal damage is astounding afterward. What was once a one inch wound is a six inch tear through muscle and flesh. The screams… they're quite astounding." Mikhail set down the scissors but Scarlett could feel her heart in her throat. Hell, who was she kidding? She'd been lucky to get out of Afghanistan with all of her fingers and toes, how did she expect to get out of this alive? She wouldn't. The only thing she could think now was how desperately she did _not_ want to be stabbed with a scissor.

"Now, Scarlett."

"Miss Damien." Scarlett internally winced. Why did she have to _piss off_ the man holding the scissors? _Why?_ What was it in her brain that broke when she was in these situations that caused her to be such an ass?

"By the time I am done with you in these next few weeks, you will be praying… for your old torture. Do you remember what it was like?" Mikhail stepped slowly closer to her, staring her down. Thankfully he'd walked toward her unarmed. Maybe the threats of torture were all empty ones. She would be of no use to them with her body broken and battered, right? It was a nice theory and it was all Scarlett could cling to for the time being. "Do you remember how sick you were? They would give you _just_ enough medicine to live and then take it away so you would suffer all over again. I remember that because I told them to _kill_ you. I told them to make you suffer in every way imaginable. But there were lines they would not cross and I assure you Miss Damien there are no lines I will not cross. In fact, I cannot wait to watch you squirm. You were supposed to be an investment and instead you have become a liability."

Scarlett couldn't listen to the threats anymore, mostly because she was sure that they were true. Every single threat he made was more than that, it was a promise to do her harm in ways that she could only imagine. Afghanistan had been terrible, worse than even her nightmares could recall, but the horrors Mikhail was capable of were even worse than that. Unable to smack or kick or do much fighting to get Mikhail to shut up, Scarlett instead spit in his face. Again, not the smartest idea she'd ever had, but it definitely did the trick. Mikhail stood up straight and stopped rambling about the various ways he'd been thinking of breaking her spirit. Without showing any emotion he wiped the spit away from his face and closed his eyes.

Mikhail kicked between her legs at the metallic chair which fell backwards onto the ground, Scarlett's head consequently smacking against the concrete and making her see stars. She blinked several times and felt dizzy but managed to stay conscious. The blow had been minor thanks to how she'd tensed up. Mikhail climbed over her and grabbed onto her already sore neck and squeezed, choking her threateningly. Still the lack of rage in his face was worse than anything she'd heard from his lips. It was true, this man was willing to do anything to get what he wanted. And since what he wanted was _her_ this was pretty big trouble for Scarlett. There were no bargains to be made for her life, nothing she could trade her way out with.

She was the target. Natasha had been right about that and it had taken awhile to sink in. Death was the only thing awaiting her when it came to MedCo.

"I was hoping you would be a bit more cooperative since things are looking rather grim for you right now but I see that you are going to be stubborn until I cut that out of your brain, and believe me I will. You will do every damn thing I tell you to do, helpless to fight back. But I will make sure that part of you knows… part of you will realize you are helpless and your suffering will be eternal." Mikhail kept his hand at her throat and Scarlett could do nothing to fight it. She was trying to loosen the bonds around her wrists, but even if she got them off she didn't stand a chance against Mikhail. Scarlett was going to have to pick her battles from now on and this was not one of them.

"I cannot wait until I slit your throat and shut you up." Scarlett didn't regret those words even if they got her into further trouble. If there was _anyone_ she wanted to kill it was Mikhail. Scott was still a petty pain in the ass and not worth the trouble or jail time that would go into killing him. But Mikhail was a psychopath and if she didn't do him in then he was going to be more than happy to pursue her for the rest of his days.

Mikhail had apparently had enough of Scarlett's taunting as well because he let go of her throat and stood up. There was still very little sentiment on his face as he stared down at her. Scarlett coughed and sputtered again. If they kept obstructing her airways then she was going to have some permanent damage to deal with and Scarlett was not okay with that. It was a relief that he wasn't squeezing her throat any longer. The guards were standing back and out of the way with their hands behind their backs.

Mikhail turned to walk away and then instead walked back over to Scarlett and gave her a swift kick in her side. His boot made contact with her stomach and Scarlett tensed up. If he broke her ribs she would be in serious trouble. The pain of breaking a rib was worse than most people anticipated. It made everything from walking to breathing difficult and Scarlett was already worse for wear. The chair slid across the ground, making a terrible creaking sound against the concrete.

Mikhail followed and kicked her a second time, just as hard as the first but thankfully it was her stomach and not her ribs that suffered the blow. It still hurt, she even cried out and choked since he'd knocked the wind out of her but it was better that she didn't break any bones in the process. Unless of course she ended up with internal bleeding, because that would suck just as horribly as breaking a rib would. Plus, internal bleeding would kill her much faster than the broken rib would.

Thankfully he reconsidered kicking a third time and left her coughing and bleeding on the floor with the chair tipped over. Wiping his hands together as if to get something foul off of them, Mikhail scowled at her and spit on the floor next to her.

"All this fighting and struggling, Miss Damien, and for what? To end up losing no matter what you do? You're a very lucky woman. I have much bigger plans for you than breaking your neck." Mikhail turned away from her, done with her for the time being. Scarlett laid there coughing, but working behind her back in hopes of getting the bonds undone for when she would inevitably be left alone to think about what she'd done. She'd been ignoring the consequences for her bad behavior for years, what was one more afternoon? "Dry her off. She needs some alone time. I don't think she quite grasps the gravity of her situation." Mikhail spoke to one of the guards and then allowed the other to join him as he walked out of the room. The heavy door clattered closed behind them and she could hear the sliding of a bolt on the outside.

The guard that she'd head butted earlier was still standing there with his mask half over his face and his lip finally scabbing up though there was dried blood wiped over his chin. Great, they left her with the guard she'd pissed off. This was going to be _so_ fun. The guard pulled off his mask entirely and shoved it into his coat pocket before glancing down at Scarlett curiously. He had grayish blue eyes a peculiarly set nose and a wide jaw. If he didn't have a fat lip he would've been handsome enough.

"Here, careful." The guard spoke surprisingly kindly as he helped right the chair that had been kicked backwards. Scarlett was surprised by his generosity and narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously all the while working on what was going on behind her back. That was one positive thing about being kicked around. While her hands had been scraped up when the chair had fallen, so had her bonds and they had come loose. It would only be a few seconds before her hands were free.

"I don't need your help." Scarlett wanted to be alone. She doubted she'd get lucky and this guard would be as kind as the one that had helped her and become her friend in South Africa. It was easier to get rid of him than it would be to convince him to aid her in her escape.

"Scarlett, right?" The guard was surprisingly devoid of an accent from that side of the world. In fact, he sounded like was from, well if Scarlett didn't know better, he sounded like he was from Brooklyn.

"_Miss Damien_, I don't really like when people who dunk me in ice water call me by my first name. That opportunity was lost when I woke up."

"I was just trying not to blow my cover." The guard wiped at his lip again. "And to be fair you almost broke my nose."

"Again, water torture. You're lucky I didn't try to do worse." Scarlett was starting to wonder if her guard was more than what he appeared to be.

"My name is Clint Barton, Scarlett." He knelt down in front of her chair and looked at her seriously. "Also known more commonly as…"

"Hawkeye." Scarlett put the pieces together before he'd finished explaining. This was the man that SHIELD had on the inside. She was guessing it wasn't luck that he'd ended up as her detail. Natasha Romanoff was far cleverer than Scarlett gave her credit for.

"I'm here to help you. I can get you out of here, but not until tonight."

"I've heard of you. Black Widow has some very nice things to say." Scarlett's attempt at being pleasant came across catty. She was in pain, an attitude couldn't exactly be helped.

"I'm sure she does." Clint glanced behind him at the cell door then looked back to Scarlett and was surprised when she had moved her hands in front of her, holding the bonds between her fingers on the seat. "Nice job." He looked impressed and Scarlett shrugged her right shoulder.

"Sometimes the only way to escape is to get your ass kicked." Scarlett nodded but was feeling sick to her stomach still. "So why do I have to wait until tonight? Why don't we just go now?"

"Something's going on that they won't give us information about. And broad daylight isn't exactly easy to sneak out in. I've got some back up I can call in and then we can get you out of here in cover of darkness."

"I don't need your help." Scarlett reached down to her ankles and withdrew a pocket knife hidden in her boot. It paid to be well prepared for any situation, even if every part of her body was objecting painfully to this being any form of success. It didn't feel like success. It felt like she needed a trip to the hospital and some morphine.

"_Really?_" Clint scoffed, an eyebrow cocked curiously. He didn't think there was anyone more stubborn than Natasha, but he was starting to realize he was wrong about that.

"Don't look at me like that. That's not what I meant. If you help me out, it blows your cover." Scarlett released her ankles and was relieved, thankful for each of her limbs to be free. She then went about the process of wiggling her fingers, toes, and various joints to make sure nothing was broken and she wouldn't be surprised when she tried to run later. She had never been the best at judging her limitations, but she could at least figure out that if her ankle was busted she shouldn't put pressure on it. Simple stuff like that, Scarlett was a pro at. "You need to stay under with MedCo. I can't do this anymore. I don't know _how_ to stop them and if I keep it up I'm gonna end up dead. So you're the next best hope."

"You can't get out of here without my help." Clint didn't seem to care much about blowing his cover. He must have been a much different kind of assassin than Natasha was. She knew that there was history between the two of them but she wondered now what it was. Clint seemed like a much kinder man, even if he didn't show it right away. He got up from where he stood and retrieved a towel from the other end of the room that had been left for this exact purpose. Scarlett stripped off her sopping wet jacket and threw it onto the floor. Her left arm was aching and pulsing as though to scream out about being shot.

Clint wrapped the towel around her shoulders so she could dry off and then retrieved a first aid kit. He could at least cover up the wound on her arm so that it would stop bleeding. The towel would help with her sopping wet long hair that had to be nearly frozen and incredibly heavy.

"If you can create a distraction and tell me which way to go, then I'll get out of here without blowing your cover. It'll be a win-win situation. I'll go find SHIELD and tell them what I know for a price I'm apparently willing to pay for my life. And you can continue on with your business here." Scarlett nodded, grateful for the towel that would dry her off. It was almost impossible to rid the chill from her bones after having been given that ice bath. Between that and the blows that she'd taken, Scarlett was going to have to do some serious work before she could be well enough to escape.

"A distraction? Look it's not going to be enough. This place is designed like a maze so that people like you don't get out even if they do escape. MedCo learned a thing or two after you got away last time and they weren't going to let that happen with anyone else, particularly when they caught you. You know they have a whole lab set up just for _you?_ In the morning they're going to come in here and they're going to put you under the knife. I'm not sure they're going to bother to sedate you. Not after the trouble you caused them. Marcia I'm sure would do that for you but I don't think that Mikhail has any patience left for you."

"Yeah it wasn't a good idea to piss off the sociopath, I sorta regret it. But I needed him to be rough with me. I was tied too tightly and I needed my arms free." Scarlett shrugged her right shoulder again and then allowed Clint to deal with the wound on her left arm. It would help considerably for that to be taken care of.

"I know what you were doing. It was clever and stupid at the same time. I would've done the same."

"Desperation is a last resort and I'm at the end of my rope." Once her arm was wrapped up Scarlett rotated her left shoulder and moved each of her fingers. They were still numbed but if she kept moving them then she would be able to use them later, at least to climb and crawl. There were no guarantees that she would be able to make a fist or shoot a gun if she had to. She missed her Tesla glove. It had been her best friend for the last few weeks and without it on her hand she felt naked.

"Let me help you. _Please_." Clint looked at her seriously and she almost considered his offer.

"I can't blindly follow a plan, you know." Scarlett shook her head. "I'm not good at that _or_ following orders. If you can create a diversion I can get out. I'm clever and an engineer. If you can point me in the right direction, I can figure out the rest. Yeah it may be a maze, but building a place like this still requires logic or it doesn't work." Standing up she hoped she could prove that she was strong enough to do as she claimed she could. But the moment she tried to take a step forward her legs gave out underneath her and she collapsed. Clint caught her before she hit the ground and helped her sit back down on the metallic chair. Once again he sat on his knees and looked at her seriously. She averted her eyes, the guilt she'd suffered for the last month returning full force.

He was giving her that look. The look that told her he saw right through her guise. She wasn't okay and he _knew_ that she wasn't. Clint wasn't going to fall for any of her games.

"I'm not dumb, Scarlett. I'm not as fast as you or Tasha but you're sick. Really sick." Clint pointed at her and then looked again behind him, paranoid that someone would overhear them before he could put his plan into action. "You've had a fever since you got here. You need back up. I can _be_ that back up and get you through here. Besides, I've got a plan for this sort of thing. Tasha thought it might come to this so we thought it out last time we talked."

"I'm sick, not handicapped. I know that things look grim from where you stand but the more I'm awake the more I'm okay. I've gotten out of much worse than this in much worse condition. Trust me."

"Yeah, I was brought up to speed by Mikhail. It sounds like it sucked." Clint was still looking at her skeptically and Scarlett couldn't blame him.

"Sucked is a pretty good word for it. Not what I would've chosen but it definitely sums it up."

"Eloquence isn't exactly my strong suit."

"I gathered that." Scarlett offered the weakest and least sincere smile that she'd ever given in her life.

"You _need_ help. Stop being so stubborn and let me help you. Let Tasha help you. We'll get you out of here. I'm going to come back at nightfall to bring you a meal and when I do, I'll come back with clothing like mine. We'll get as far as we can like that and then we'll fight our way out if we have to. Between the two of us we can do it. I've seen your work, you're talented but you need someone to have your back."

"There's no way to avoid blowing your cover if we do that." Scarlett exhaled deeply, shaking her head in disapproval. Despite that she knew deep down that Clint was right. She couldn't escape on her own, not through a facility as massive as the one she was being held in and not in her condition. One good shot or one good hit and she'd be right back where she was now. In a prison cell and feeling like hell.

"Some things are worth sacrificing."

"Even if it means missing your chance to take these guys down?"

"We'll get them one way or another, Scarlett. But you've fought too hard to die like this. So no, I'm not willing to sacrifice another person's life to watch MedCo go down." Scarlett guessed that this was all very much against SHIELD protocol.

Scarlett silenced and furrowed her brow. Clint barely knew her but he wasn't willing to watch her die even when he had the chance to put a stop to all the nastiness that MedCo had become over the years. He was hands down ready to throw away all the progress he'd made to save the life of a woman who had caused nothing but trouble.

She was starting to understand why Natasha felt any loyalty to him. If she got out of there alive, she'd have to tell that to her friend. Clint could tell Scarlett wasn't ready to acknowledge what had been said but somehow he knew that even if she wasn't going to admit it, she would've done the same for someone like him or for someone she cared about. It was easier for her to make the decision to sacrifice her life for the greater good but a much harder decision to miss a chance to stop something horrid from happening.

Clint wasn't going to try to push her on the matter, she'd been pushed far enough and he needed her with her wits about her if they were going to have any chance of escape. With a heavy sigh, Clint got to his feet.

"Will you rest while I'm gone?" Clint placed his hands on his hips and waited for her answer. She nodded her head solemnly. "Good. Guards will be in and out for the next few hours. You're a high priority prisoner so they're not going to leave you completely alone for more than a few minutes. But if you play your cards right no one will hurt you further unless Mikhail comes back. Something tells me he's got other things on his mind or he would've done much worse to you."

"Yeah, I gathered that, actually. It bothers me." Scarlett wasn't objecting to not having her fingers cut off or her feet slashed open, but she was worried about what it was that seemed more important than her at the moment. Not that she _wanted_ to be the focus of attention when it came to MedCo, but what else could they possibly be focusing on that would be more important than her? They'd made a point to show her just how determined they were to get her back into their clutches and now that they had, they were distracted? So by what? She was scared that it was Tony that had become the bigger distraction.

She wouldn't forgive herself if anything happened to him.

"You can't think about that right now. We can only deal with what's in front of us. We'll deal with _that_ once you're free. I'll be back, be kind to the guards and they'll be kind to you. Most of them are actually really nice guys. They'll be more sympathetic because you're pretty so use that to your advantage. Try not to insult anyone else."

"Are you telling me to use my womanly wiles for evil?" Scarlett laughed. It was the first genuine smile or laugh she'd expressed in a long time.

"I am actually. It'll work. These guys are stuck with men like me most of the time. So women are treated a bit differently."

"Smart man, smarter than you look at least." Scarlett held up her hand. "No offense."

"None taken. Just get some rest and I'll be back in the evening." Clint walked toward the door and knocked against it, pulling his mask back over his face to obscure his identity as he had been trained to do over the years. Once it had been opened by the guard outside, he left. He locked the door to Scarlett's prison cell, let the guard at the end of the hall know what he had done with her and that he was returning to patrol the upper corridors.

Once he was sure he was on his own, Clint snuck into one of the bathrooms and withdrew his phone. Even with the disguise and a distraction, it was going to be much harder to get Scarlett out of the facility unnoticed. She'd been the primary target for MedCo for weeks and now that they had her, he was sure they weren't going to let her out of their sights, at least not easily.

"Tasha?" He spoke when someone on the other line picked up and the woman sounded disappointed on the other end of the line.

"They got her didn't they?"

"Yeah, she's not doing so great. We have until tomorrow morning to get her out. I can't stop what happens after that so we've got to move quickly." Clint turned on the water in the bathroom so no one would overhear him on the phone.

"So what do we do?"

"I think it's time to blow my cover." Clint kept checking the bathroom door just in case. Natasha sounded exasperated on the other end of the line.

"We're going to catch hell for this. Fury's not going to be happy." Natasha didn't sound like she was shying away from the challenge, but dealing with the fallout wouldn't be easy either.

"Could be fun though."

"Remember that time in North Korea? As fun as that, you think?"

"I worry about your sense of delight sometimes." Clint chuckled but after given some time to consider nodded his head. "I'd say as fun as North Korea. Maybe a little more since your friend will be with us."

"I'll be there by nightfall. Be ready to let me in." Natasha hung up the phone before Clint could say goodbye.

It was going to be a very long night for Hawkeye and Black Widow.


	30. Sour Exchange

"This is, by far, the _worst_ idea you've ever had, Tony." Rhodey wasn't sure where to start with the list of objections he had to his best friend's latest plot. Why was he putting his career on the line again? Oh yeah. Some woman he'd never met was in trouble with a corporation that had recently been listed as a terrorist organization and now Tony was chasing after her. It was the longest, most confusing day James Rhodes had in a long time.

"_Really?_ Worse than that time in Atlantic City? 95 I think it was?" Tony had opened a panel in the back of his Mark VII armor and was pulling at wires hastily. His speech was mumbled and stifled due to the pliers he held in his mouth as he refastened a pair of wires.

"Yes, way worse than that. What happened in Atlantic City wasn't going to get you _killed_." Rhodey was desperate to get to Tony's location faster but there was only so much he could do with the means provided. He really should've brought the WarMachine in for an upgrade when Tony had offered it.

"Rhodey, that hotel room was only _sixty_ dollars a night! How did that not almost get me killed? Do you know how often they actually clean those places?" Rhodey could be heard laughing on the other end of the line, but it faded quickly thanks to the severity of the situation. Tony was funny but it was hard to enjoy a good joke when they were constantly reminded of what was about to happen in the Russian sunset. Silence followed soon after, Tony working on reprogramming the Mark VII and Rhodey traveling in the WarMachine to provide backup as soon as he could. Unfortunately it wasn't soon enough to ease anyone's nerves.

"Excuse me Mr. Stark, Mr. Rhodes, but what happened in Atlantic City?" Sergei had been brought in on the phone call so that Rhodey could communicate with him when inevitably Tony was taken by MedCo and just in case Tony couldn't keep his earpieces in after that happened. Scott was relentlessly scouring every available hiding place nearby in search of him and yelling insanely outside of the abandoned factory in the process. Tony and his cohorts knew it was only a matter of time before they were found out. It was simple. They had to distract him before he reached the warehouse.

He planned on approaching Scott before their hiding place was found out and leaving his armor behind and ready to be remotely controlled by Jarvis via the earpieces he was wore. Hopefully they would remain hidden in his ears from those at MedCo or at least he would be able to get to them one way or another after he was taken prisoner. Tony had introduced Sergei to Rhodey and the Colonel had immediately objected to the arrangement that had been proposed as Tony had known he would. That was why Tony had gotten a head start on the process. Rhodey had to get his complaints out of his system before he finally agreed to the plan put before him.

"It's a long story, Sergei and if you and I get out of this alive I will personally buy you a White Russian or whatever it is you Russians drink and explain the whole damn story to you warts and all."

"I prefer Vodka." Sergei interjected, the humor apparently lost on him. Tony shook his head and sighed.

"Vodka then. I thought Russians were funny." With a curt nod he closed up the back of his Mark VII and then exhaled deeply before approaching Sergei who was standing, armed with a group of men and women gathered behind him. "Rhodes, it can't be worse than that time I got drunk and flew the suit around Manhattan and set off fireworks."

"Tony… We're not having this discussion." Rhodey began. He knew that Tony coped with stress by using humor but it only succeeded in making James worry about his wellbeing. If Tony died before Rhodey got to him, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. He'd already almost lost his friend once when he'd gone missing after the weapons display in Afghanistan. That experience had changed his life forever. Rhodey didn't want to take that risk a second time and definitely not because of a woman who Tony could possibly be over in a month or two. Faith in Tony Stark's relationships was something Rhodey did _not_ have.

"Rhodey, if you have a better plan then I'd like to hear it." Tony finally spoke seriously. There was very little time left to linger. Of _course_ he was scared! Why wouldn't he be? For all he knew Scott was planning to shoot him right between the eyes as soon as he walked out to meet him. But Tony couldn't risk that any further harm would befall Scarlett if he delayed. And he knew that he'd never be able to sneak into the MedCo building without causing a distraction. What was a better distraction than him pissing off the already insanely pissed off guy?

"Can't you buy time until I get there? At least then you'll have some back up."

"There is no time left to wait, Rhodey!"

"Only because you're thinking about _her_. If it was anyone else, would you find a different solution?"

"No, that's not _just_ it. I'm not thinking with the wrong head here!" Tony nervously ran his fingers over his jaw and then held his hand up to silence Sergei who stood behind him and was obviously going to ask further about the woman who was being held inside the MedCo building. "I gave her a hard time about this place and about MedCo in general for a long time. But she was _right_, Rhodes. They have to be stopped and yeah, cal me selfish, I don't want her to die. To be perfectly honest I don't…" Tony drifted off and didn't bother completing the sentence. He didn't know what he'd do if Scarlett died. The very idea made his head spin and his stomach churn uncomfortably. His throat suddenly felt tight and his breathing became restricted. But Sergei's hand clasped his shoulder and Tony was brought back to reality, in fact he welcomed it.

"What is so wrong with Stark going in after this woman?" Sergei spoke up and both Rhodey and Tony silenced, though Tony looked back at him with surprising emotion behind his eyes. "MedCo _destroys_ lives. That man out there _destroys_ lives. They must be stopped and no life is less precious than anyone else's. Are you saying, Mr. American soldier, that _any_ life is less valuable than that of your friend? I thought you men were the 'nobody left behind' sort. Tony," Sergei looked to him thoughtfully, "it is the best option we have per the moment. You must do it. _We_ must."

"He's right," Tony sighed and offered a smile to the surprisingly thoughtful Russian commando. "Sergei, you'll take your men and sneak into the facility while you can. I'm going to have Jarvis hack into their computers, he's already working on it. I won't disable anything but I'll have the security cameras run in a loop and jam communications to throw them off. That'll give you and your men a chance to get in unseen. Evacuate prisoners, get the evidence you need and raise hell."

"Tony, I'll be there in just a couple of hours, if you could _wait_, I could lead men in and the government could take them down. You wouldn't have to get your hands dirty and we could still save her."

"You said it yourself, Rhodes." Tony interrupted with a wave of his hand even if Rhodey couldn't see him. "Getting United States troops past the Russians will take days not hours and we don't have either to spare. Scott's going to be here any second and everyone is in jeopardy. I've come too far to back down now. The only other option I can see is to pull out and you know I'm not that kind of guy. Once I'm inside you'll still be in my ear, hopefully. I'm tough, I can do this. Have some faith in me."

"You're not as tough as you think you are."

"You keep doing this thing where you ruin the illusion and it's _so_ not okay." Grunting, Tony patted himself down to make sure he didn't have any weapons left on him. It was scary being out of his suit and walking straight into danger. Now that he thought about it, it was a new experience unlike anything he'd dealt with in the past. Social situations were a breeze, parties were a delight, mundane things that people usually feared Tony Stark was particularly adept at. And he _was_ tough, that hadn't been a lie. Just a couple of months prior he'd tested for his blue belt and had gotten it. But it was a far cry from a black belt and he had only ever used his skills in the ring or from behind his suit of armor.

Scott wasn't an opponent that would stop when Tony had enough. Thankfully fighting wasn't something Tony planned on doing. If there was one thing Tony Stark wasn't, it was a fool. Sometimes he was an idiot, he was too quick to react, often said things without considering the repercussions and he was even selfish, but Tony was no fool. When it really counted, he made the right choices and if there was one thing he was also sure of at the moment it was that fighting MedCo was a stupid, _stupid_ plan. He had little to no advantages. In fact he had every disadvantage he could think of.

That was why Tony planned on playing the defensive for the time being and getting inside the building before going on the offensive. Sergei and his team would do the footwork from there and when the time was right, he would call in the reinforcement of the Mark VII if he could. It wasn't a guarantee that he'd be able to use the suit once he'd been taken captive.

"I'm going to buy time from the inside the best I can. When you get here, Rhodey you better be ready to blow shit up." Greased up hands ran through Tony's already messed up hair. He was usually meticulous about his looks, but it didn't seem to matter in the grand scheme of things. How was one supposed to prepare themselves for a punch to the face and possibly a broken nose? There was no proper way so Tony hoped that he was too pretty to damage. Why couldn't Scott be a beautiful woman and Scarlett have had a sexy lesbian curiosity phase before him?

"I'm ready to blow things up right now but I can't very well do it from so far away, can I?" Rhodey finally relented to the plan even though he was still sure it was the worst idea he'd heard in a long time. When it came down to it, he knew that Tony was right even if everything in his being was telling him not to let Tony go through with it. What was he realistically supposed to do? Rhodey couldn't tell Tony to leave Scarlett behind. Even if it had been Rhodey in Tony's shoes, he wouldn't have left the woman to suffer at the hands of the malevolent corporation that hunted her.

"You are such a Debbie downer right now." Tony was readying himself to leave even if he didn't want to admit it. Going out to meet Scott head on scared the hell out of him but he couldn't see any other options. Part of him had hoped that Rhodey actually had a backup plan that would be better than Tony's sacrifice play but they hadn't gotten so lucky.

"Just don't do anything _too_ stupid while you're in there, okay? The odds are bad enough already."

"You know me."

"That's the problem. Don't say anything to make him any angrier than he already is."

"Have you listened to _anything_ I've told you about this guy? He's a nutcase! Like… John Cusack in Identity crazy. I could pay him a compliment and he'd take it the wrong way." Tony grunted. Even his pop culture references were suffering.

"You know what I meant, Tony. You're dealing with a seriously disturbed individual. You look at him the wrong way and he could…"

"Yeah, yeah Anthony Hopkins me, I got it." Tony nodded then ignored the rest of what Rhodey was telling him on the other line. He instead turned his attention to Sergei who was ordering his troops and readying them for the next phase of their plan. "I'm going."

"Good luck, my friend." Sergei bowed his head respectfully and Tony did nothing to respond. Words seemed to have temporarily escaped him (which was saying something). Scott was still yelling and had resorted to destroying everything in his path. The gun he'd been shooting into the air had been discarded since he'd long run out of bullets with his manic shooting. Instead he chose to use his fists and even from as far away as they were, they could see his knuckles were bloodied.

"I know you're out there!" He was shouting, his voice sounding raw but he persisted nonetheless. Crazy was the understatement of the year for this guy. "You cannot hide! We know you're out here!" Tony did his best to ignore the ranting that Scott was doing. Half of what the man said wasn't making any sense and all it did was prove to make Tony's stomach sick. Well, sick_er_.

Curry was the stupidest thing he'd eaten in a long time even if it had been the day before. No more curry after this, not _ever_.

Holding his breath to make less noise Tony crept away from the empty warehouse and along the perimeter. He wanted to draw Scott's gaze away from their hideout so that Sergei would have a chance to lead in his troops once Tony had successfully garnered his attention. The further away he was, the easier it would be.

Each step against the asphalt sounded like a crash and every breath he took sounded like a hiss. Over active imaginations weren't always a blessing, they were often a curse, particularly when coupled with Tony's genius. If nothing else, Scott was out of bullets so he wouldn't be shot right away when he was caught. Though, now that Tony really thought about it, it was likely that there were guards outside of the facility keeping watch for people like him, particularly when Scott was outside doing his maniacal ranting. Someone had to be keeping an eye on him, right? MedCo was a vicious company and while Tony was sure that Scott _thought_ he had some leeway with them, he could tell by talking to Mikhail for just those brief few seconds that they were manipulating Scott the same way they were manipulating Scarlett.

He was a tool and as long as he thought he was going to get what he wanted in the long run they wouldn't resort to using force to control him. Scarlett had seen through the vicious company's lies nearly immediately and rebelled so they'd gone down more violent pathways than they'd resorted to for Scott.

It was only a matter of time before Scott became a victim the same way that Scarlett had become a victim, but the only difference was that Scott couldn't be saved. Hopefully he still had time to make sure that Scarlett was going to get away from their grip unscathed. Tony stopped near the chain link perimeter fence and froze in place. Would this be their life? Running from one enemy or another constantly? It didn't sound like a very promising future. But Tony had enemies and Scarlett certainly had more than MedCo to make amends for. This was not the time or place to think that far into their future.

"Are you a _coward_, Tony Stark? I thought you were more of a man than this. I guess I was wrong." Scott taunted, glaring around in search of his prey and then speaking into a radio. Tony hadn't noticed that before and whispered into his headset.

"Keep his line of communication open. They need to know I'm here so they can focus on me." The command was for Jarvis not for Sergei or Rhodey. With any luck, the others would know to stay quiet. One wrong word and he'd blow the entire mission and lose both his earpieces.

"You're just going to let her _rot_ in there? Do you have any idea what we're planning to do to her? I can describe it for you in vivid detail, if you like." There was a twisted pleasure in Scott's voice. How could someone who had once claimed to love Scarlett now be okay with having such terrible things planned for her? Tony's guess was that the level of screwing they'd done with Scott's already screwed up brain had rattled the line between love and hate and blurred it into obscurity.

"You are not as smart as you think you are! _Genius?_ What are you now but a worm, hiding beneath the dirt and waiting for the rain to wash you out?" Scott laughed but Tony could tell he was frustrated. It was the perfect time for him to spring his plan into action. Well, maybe not perfect.

"Then why couldn't you find me?" Tony stepped out of the shadows, hands in his pocket and staring toward Scott. The blond seemed surprised to see that Tony had emerged from the darkness and willingly at that. But he didn't raise a weapon and no swat team came out to attack him and take him down as he had worried would happen once he'd revealed himself. Slowly Tony approached until he stood a few feet away from Scott and stared him down. He did his best to look tough but he could feel his stomach lurch and was sure he was pale.

Confidence had always been something Tony could fake even on his worst days but this was different. He wasn't used to putting his life on the line. It was never in his nature to stand in the line of fire, not without a backup plan. The only thing he could think to do in order to spare Scarlett was for him to be more valuable and distracting than she was. If he could give her enough time to get free on her own, or allow time for Sergei to save her, then it would be well worth any pain he went through. But when it came down to actually _experiencing_ the pain, Tony was panicked. He remembered what it felt like to be under the knife in Afghanistan and it was not something he ever wanted to relive.

"I've never been known for my stealth or subtlety and yet you truly had no idea if I was here or not. You just hoped I'd be." Tony smirked confidently. Scott seemed annoyed but at the same time had a smile on his face. Twisted wasn't the word Tony was looking for when it came to describing Scott. It was a whole different sense of insanity that he gave off. He emitted crazy vibes. In his head, Tony could hear Scarlett laughing at how incredibly ludicrous that sounded but Tony would stick by it.

"I _knew_ you'd show up sooner or later." Scott spat, his lip curling viciously.

"Oh yeah, and why is that?"

"Because she loves you." The words seemed to make Scott sick to his stomach and he gagged.

"And that's motivation enough for me to come, huh?"

"I assume you must love her too and let's be honest are you going to give her up? _Her?_"

"Scarlett would really hate to hear you talking about her like this. She's not a prize to fight over, it's actually pretty ridiculous." Tony grimaced. Even the thought of it made him uncomfortable. He'd tried to treat Scarlett like a prize to be won when they'd first met, then an obstacle to be conquered and neither had worked out for him very well. Instead he'd ended up meeting his match and daresay it, finding his soul mate. Now Tony felt like gagging a little.

"She _was_ a prize." Scott's glare could've melted the snow in the tundra. "Do you know how long I fought to even get her to look at me?"

"That should've been your first clue that things weren't going to work out."

"How did you do it?" Scott scoffed. Tony was unsure what the question meant. There were at least four ways he could interpret that sentence without thinking very hard about it and none of them seemed to make any sense so he instead chose to wait for an elaboration. When none came he finally asked.

"What? Do what? You have to be less vague. I know that's a bad guy thing… vague and cryptic, leaving it to the imagination but it would yield an answer much faster if you just asked what you really meant." Tony's sardonic tone was probably uncalled for and he couldn't help but hear Rhodey in his head reminding him to avoid saying anything stupid. Well, he couldn't say that no one had warned him.

"Tame her." Scott wasn't as tall as Tony but height wasn't needed to be intimidating. It was obvious that Tony was aware of the changes Scott had physically made and the blond used them to his advantage.

"Well, I hate to brag but I've got some skill with a whip. Some say it was too much time spent watching Indiana Jones but that's not it at _all._"

"How did you tame her?" Scott growled, taking an aggressive step toward Tony resulting in a defensive step backwards from the billionaire. "What did you do to _my_ Scarlett that got her to roll over and let you in?_ Hmm?_ I know it couldn't have been your charm… or money, or good looks even. So what is it you did to win her over? Tell me." Scott's lip twitched and he gritted his teeth. Everything about his body language was telling Tony to back the hell off. This guy was a ticking time bomb and Tony had triggered the trip wire.

"I didn't do _anything_. She hated me." Tony decided joking around probably wasn't the best way to go. His whip joke had done nothing but make Scott twitch unnaturally. How many horror movies had he seen where the villain twitched like that? At least a dozen. That behavior _never_ ended well for the protagonist. Then again Tony hadn't really seen anyone twitch like that in real life. Usually in the movies they were ghosts or demons. It didn't bode well for Tony in either case.

"I don't think you're in a position to lie to me, Stark." Scott hissed in frustration.

"I'm not lying to you… I mean the whip thing _was_ an exaggeration but I haven't lied."

"She did hate you! Do you know how many hours we spent talking about what a joke you and your company were?"

"I'm never going to hear the end of it with that, am I? Yes, I know that she hated me and yes, I know why. Oh and yes, I do know that she spent hours and hours talking about what an egotistical pain in the ass I am. If you think she didn't make that clear you probably didn't know her very well." Tony rolled his eyes, fluttering his eyelashes in an expression of boredom. Again, not the smartest thing to say to a crazy man, but Tony apparently couldn't help himself. He was going to have to work on that.

Maybe. If he remembered.

Which was unlikely.

"What was it then?" Scott was clearly losing his patience with Tony. "What did you do? You had to have done something. I _need_ to know! I have tried everything over the years… _everything._"

"That's not how this all works, you know." Tony knew reasoning with a man who was one belt short of a straight jacket wasn't going to work but he was at a loss for what else to say. The longer he dragged their conversation on, the more time Sergei and his men would have to sneak into MedCo's building across the way. With any luck, there were men keeping an eye on his conversation with Scott and they would be too distracted to notice the stealthy warriors sneaking their way past him. "Look this was _not_ planned, I didn't try to tame her and we butted heads and still do at every turn. I don't know how you think this whole love thing works, but it's got nothing to do with taming anyone. In fact, that word outside of the bedroom should be reserved for lions."

"I tried everything." Scott interrupted, twitching again. He turned his back on Tony and ran his fingers through his hair nervously. "Everything I could think of. Do you think this is how I wanted it to be?"

"We barely know each other… you're… being really vague again…" Tony pursed his lips and wrung his hands together awkwardly.

"It didn't matter how sweet I was to her or what kind of gifts I showered her with. She would _never_ settle for me! I am a good man, why wouldn't she love me?"

"Was… _was…_" Tony corrected and widened his eyes when Scott turned to glare at him. "Past tense, not such a good man anymore. Just… grammar."

"I _am_ a good man Mr. Stark. Better than you could ever be… you're nothing more than a weapons dealer and a thug."

"Wait, no… _what?_" Tony furrowed his brow and began objecting but was interrupted by Scott who was likely no longer listening to anything he had to say.

"I was devoted… I'm still devoted. For awhile we were happy, or I was happy. I thought she was happy too and so I proposed. She said _no_. What kind of a woman says no to a marriage proposal?" Ranting, Scott looked past Tony which made the genius turn around and search for what was taking his focus but saw nothing of note.

"Well, my first thought is a woman who _doesn't_ want to get married or isn't ready or… a prostitute you've known for three hours." Tony opened his mouth to speak more but stopped when he realized the question was rhetorical.

"It was that damn job of hers. She loved it more than me."

"That was probably a good sign you should've… never mind continue." Tony stopped when Scott shot him a look that scared him. He may not have had a gun but whatever had been done to him was definitely more than Tony had to bring to the table. More than ever he wished he was safe and sound inside of the Mark VII armor. After this he was going to buckle down and learn how to fight without the suit. He couldn't hide in it forever and he was staring at the perfect reason as to why. If Scarlett was no match for him then Tony couldn't hope to last ten minutes in a physical altercation. True, he could fight, but doing so in this sort of tense situation was something unfamiliar.

"She didn't want to be my wife. She didn't even want to be my lover. I couldn't even get her to go on a damn vacation with me! There were so many lies in our relationship that I couldn't tell when she was being honest anymore." Tony bit his lip to stay quiet. He could see how things had become so disastrous for them but he wondered when something had snapped inside of Scott that had driven him to this point.

Scarlett had obviously frustrated him but normal people would have broken that kind of relationship off and moved on with their lives. No, Scott was blaming Scarlett for his transformation but something else was clearly wrong with him that had driven him to madness. Tony knew well enough that the kind of crazy Scott was couldn't have been caused by one woman. Scarlett was definitely something else, but there was not a woman in the world that could've caused the massive psychotic break that Scott must have suffered.

"Then why are you still bothering?" Tony finally asked when Scott began to pace back and forth, muttering under his breath. The insane muttering stopped and Scott cocked his head unnaturally back toward Tony. "I mean, if she wouldn't be with you no matter what you chose to do then why the hell are you here chasing after her? There are plenty of women out there and I know women like her are rare but… hell, you're a handsome guy and had to have not been a violent sociopath at some point."

"The years I put into chasing her… you think I was just going to give up without a fight? Scarlett needs me. She _needs _me! This destructive life she lives is going to get her killed. All the signs are there! Even torture didn't convince her! Torture! The things they did to her were unspeakable and still she persisted."

"Oh, really? She needs you?"

"The nightmares, you've seen them haven't you? We have too." Scott's blue eyes were haunting. How had they known about the nightmares? What else had they seen? "You for example."

"_Me?_"

"I told you she hated you and now she's with you? That's clearly another part of her destructive behavior! Why couldn't she have just taken the job with MedCo that I arranged for her and done what was asked? It would've solved everything! Instead she had to blow the damn place up and go with _you_!"

"Wait, just… wait, okay?" But Scott wasn't going to wait for anyone. In fact, Tony was positive that Scott couldn't even hear him anymore. "This guy is so crazy, and not the good kind of fun crazy." Wide eyed, Tony took several steps backwards so that he could stay out of harm's way if Scott decided to randomly lash out. "This was such a bad idea, I'm sorry! I'm sorry. I was wrong. Bad idea, _bad idea._"

"I realized long before then that the only way to get her to be mine was to play her game. She was so wrapped up in her job and the danger of it all… if I made things dangerous then she had no choice. Either she'd fold and realize I was more than half the man she thought I was or she'd be too weak to continue! But that didn't work either. She thought I was dead then _you_ came along and stole her from me."

"Well, you were sorta dead. At least to her."

"I was never dead!" Growling, Scott stamped his foot like a child throwing a tantrum. "You don't understand how brilliant my plan is! You need to understand that you are _not_ the genius! _I_ _am_ the genius! _I_ played her game. _I_ lured her into my trap! And now she's _mine._"

"You're mad." Tony was disgusted by the implications being made How could he treat Scarlett or _anyone_ like that? Insanity was one thing but malevolence was another. Setting Scarlett up for torture was the most disgusting thing he'd seen another human being do.

"Some people mistake brilliance for madness yes, I can see the confusion."

"No, I'm not confused. You're a goddamn lunatic." Tony started, still obviously appalled. He was tired of listening to the crazy man rant and he wasn't going to keep his mouth shut any longer. Surely he'd given Sergei and his men enough time to get past them. He could end the confrontation with violence or make his way out and get back to his suit He was hoping for the latter if his mouth would let him get away with that. "You're treating Scarlett like she's the prize at the end of a game! Her life _wasn't_ a game. What she was doing _wasn't_ a game and what she's going through right now, that's _not_ a game! Do you think there's any way you get out of this with her loving you? Or without MedCo using her as they please? Look what they've done to you! You think that you're winning? That you're better than you used to be? When was the last time you did something that wasn't for the benefit of that Russian asshole?"

"Shut up! You don't know a damn thing!"

"You keep saying that you're doing this for her but who are you really doing any of this for? What would it benefit her to be turned into the same kind of piece of shit monster you've become? She's already remarkable so what is it that's going to happen here?" Tony was done keeping his mouth shut despite how he could hear Rhodey in his ear telling him to cool it. "What you're doing? That's not out of love. It's out of something but it ain't love."

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

"I know _exactly_ what I'm talking about!" Tony took a step toward Scott, less afraid than before. Adrenaline was a mystical thing. "You want to know how I know?"

"Shut up, I said to shut the hell up!"

"Because _I_ love her! Because we wound up together without any of this bullshit you're pulling and, hell, in spite of each other! In spite of her lies and her scandalous history I saw _her_ underneath it and loved every damn thing about her without needing her to change. And she despite her preconceived notions, despite my asinine sexist remarks and childish behavior fell for me! She never asked me to change for her. That's love… not whatever this is. I'm not really sure that's a word for what this is."

"She _doesn't_ love you! You tricked her! You did something, but you won't tell me what it is!"

"You're just a sick twisted fuck manipulating Scarlett to create some screwed up fantasy world you think you're going to live in! Get your head out of the clouds, asshole!" Tony shouted. Much to his surprise Scott simply stared at him, not filled with rage as he had expected him to be. "There's no utopia for you at the end of this! There's just MedCo manipulating her and manipulating you. They'll kill you once they have no use for you. That's it. That's all there is."

"Tony? Tony, I'm getting some weird kind of interference are you still there?" Rhodey's voice was cutting in and out of his ears. The transmission was garbled, turned into static and then a loud screech made Tony jump in surprise and smack at the radio transmitter in his right ear. Very suddenly he was aware of someone standing behind him and it sent chills down his spine. Slowly he turned around but only to be grabbed by something large and thrown across the pavement. Tony instantly leaned up to get a better look at what had thrown him, ignoring his scraped elbows.

"Tony? _Tony!_" Rhodey's started up in his ear again once the interference had faded.

"Not a great time." Tony scooted backwards, staring unblinking at what had thrown him. Scott stood nearby, looking far more menacing than he had even when he'd been insanely muttering under his breath while pacing back and forth. The creature behind Scott was massive. It looked like there had once been the face of a man but now it was so damaged that there was only a hole for a mouth and one bulging eye. The other looked like it had been recently sewn up. Flesh was ribbed and ruined, scarred as though recently burned.

"What's going on Tony? You sound freaked out!" Rhodey was practically yelling through the static interference. Scooting backwards Tony kept his mouth hanging open and stared at the creature barreling down on him.

"Erick, don't hurt him. We need him alive." Scott stared at Tony thoughtfully but there was something behind his blue eyes that wasn't there before. Maybe Tony's words had made an impact. After all, Scott may have been psychotic but he wasn't stupid.

"That thing's name is _Erick?_ You named the zombie? That's a really benign name for a goddamn zombie!" Tony grumbled, shaking his head back and forth in disbelief. "Oh, zombies… didn't expect zombies."

"What is it Tony?" Rhodey was panicking in Tony's ear. "Should I come in guns blazing? I'm still far away but I can let Sergei know to get started." Erick stood drooling over Tony. His body was covered in scars and he stared down at Tony blankly. Nothing was going on in his head, nothing except for following orders. What was this monster and how many of them were there? Sure, MedCo had been experimenting in biological warfare but this was the _last_ thing that Tony had expected to find when he went to meet up with Scott. "Tony, you've got to talk to me! I need to hear your voice now or I'm sending Sergei in."

"Whoa!" Tony yelped as he dodged one massive burned arm as it reached to grab him.

"Oh, don't put up a fight, Stark. We both know you're no match for us." Scott folded his arms over his chest and watched Tony with mild amusement. "And take out that earpiece, you're not fooling anyone." Scampering to his feet, Tony took surprised steps away but knew that Scott was right. What was he supposed to do? Run away and leave Scarlett to whatever the hell they were planning for her? Leave her to Scott? Leave her to the zombie named Erick?

Erick grabbed Tony's arm and pulled him swiftly until he had both arms of the billionaire behind his back. The creature was stronger than Tony had expected.

"Ow, ow! Careful!" Tony pouted, though he knew that no one was going to be careful with him after the trouble he'd caused. Scott walked in front of Tony and cocked his head to the side.

"Stark, you may be a genius but even you can't get out of this one. Give up."

"Tony, what do you want me to do?" The earpiece buzzed again. The one in his left ear seemed to have given out from whatever was causing the static interference.

"No changes, Rhodes." Tony spoke as Scott smacked the side of his head, looking for the earpiece Tony was using. "Well, except zombies. Zombies, Rhodes. Prepare for zombies. Shoot them in the head, I think… unless every pop culture reference ever is wrong. Call S.T.A.R.S. if you can. S.H.I.E.L.D. would be okay too though." Tony yelled as Scott pulled the earpiece free of his right ear and then threw it on the ground. With a stomp, the connection was cut off. Erick dragged Tony toward the MedCo building with Scott leading the way. Tony prayed that the second piece in his other ear would be left alone so he could rig it to work again. But the horrible squealing continued in his left ear as they got closer to the building.

Despite the appearance of the monster named Erick, Tony thought his exchange with Scott had gone rather well. He'd suffered a few minor scrapes when he'd been thrown about but other than that no one had caused him any physical damage. With any luck once he got inside the building, he'd be able to sneak his way out and then find Scarlett. Either that or Sergei would find her first. It didn't matter who found her as long as she was found and brought to safety. Then he'd worry about how to save his own skin.


	31. Out of Time

After Hawkeye had left Scarlett to her own devices in the prison cell of the MedCo building she hadn't been allowed very much time to consider her imprisonment or even her escape. That was peculiar for her, considering it was Scarlett's instinct to examine her surroundings. Even when she'd made her mental picture of the room while Mikhail had been torturing her, her heart wasn't in it. In fact, she'd already forgotten what the room looked like. The fever was starting to interfere with the way she functioned.

Fifteen minutes later a second guard entered her cell and saw that she had been removed from her chair. He was gruff and spoke broken English with a Russian accent but said very little. Obviously he had been briefed on how dangerous a prisoner Scarlett could be. Even if she could've Scarlett had no intentions of taking out the guard to escape. It would've been a stupid move on her part no matter how she spun it in her head. On top of that, she was too damn sore and tired to even consider trying.

Recalling the guard from South Africa who had been incredibly kind to her when she had joked with him time after time she didn't make any attempt to cause him harm or even insult. Clint had been right; Scarlett was in no condition to try escaping on her own. The odds were stacked against her and the usually sturdy foundation beneath her feet was crumbling. It didn't mean that she was going to lay useless on her cot and let S.H.I.E.L.D. do all the work but she wasn't going to burst out of her cell guns blazing either.

Clint had seen right through her, albeit, poor guise and had called her out on a great many things. Scarlett needed to get as much rest as possible while she'd been afford the opportunity. But sleep was both tantalizing and terrifying. What if she woke up and she was no longer… well, _herself?_ When she'd been in MedCo's clutches the first time in Cape Town she never would've imagined the terrible things they'd become capable of in the future. Back then they were a munitions company and Scarlett hadn't been scared of them. If only she could go back a month and give herself a warning of what the corporation would become and how they would tear the remains of her life apart piece by piece until she had little to nothing left.

Now she was imprisoned again and terrified of what would happen when she closed her eyes. As she had suspected he would be, the guard was far kinder than given credit for and when he had ordered her back to the chair she had stumbled. Much to her surprise he had helped to correct her balance and assisted her onto the chair she had abandoned. While he bound her wrists behind her once more, she managed to convince him that she needed rest. Very kindly he had bound her to the bed along the wall so that she could rest comfortably without causing her further harm.

Scarlett now lay on the uncomfortable cot, wrists above her head and bound to the metallic frame. She wished she could better care for the bruises and wounds she'd been dealt but knew that beggars couldn't be choosers. Between Scott and Mikhail she had her fair share of injuries that she was sure wouldn't get taken care of until she'd found a way out of the facility (if that ever occurred). She was hoping that she'd been taken to the building in Russia that she'd had every intention of breaking into before things had gone all helter-skelter.

It occurred to her that Mikhail could have flown her anywhere in the world to any facility MedCo had set up. Then again, how many did they have left that Scarlett hadn't destroyed or run across already? The feeling in her gut told her that she was still just outside of Moscow and all she could do was trust her gut.

They likely didn't want to risk traveling too far with a woman who had managed to weasel her way out of their grasp on multiple occasions. It was the smartest move that MedCo had ever made concerning her. Finally Mikhail had learned not to underestimate her abilities. She partially wished they were still treating her like she was a disobedient teenager. Her eyes fluttered closed against her will and she snapped them open again instinctively. As much as she wanted to stay awake exhaustion had other plans for her. Hawkeye had told her to rest up so she would be ready to escape with him that evening, but how did she know they weren't going to come for her while she slept? Maybe that was what Mikhail was waiting for?

Internal struggle had become Scarlett's middle name and she was just about done with it. Slowly she brushed her fingers over the folds of the rope over her wrists. The guard had tied it carefully so that it wouldn't mar her wrists. If she had to kill anyone to get out of the building she hoped that this particular guard wouldn't be amongst them. Those who were caught in the crossfire often had very little idea what those who signed their paychecks were up to. It was one of the many reasons that Scarlett hadn't agreed to work exclusively for any one company. There was too much danger of getting in over your head.

Not that she'd managed to avoid getting in over her head or anything, but still, it was one thing she had at least _tried_ to avoid. She never wanted to be acknowledged as a hired thug if she could help it. Before she knew it sleep had overtaken her.

When she opened her eyes again she snapped up just as quickly but the lights were flickering overhead. Sitting up Scarlett found that what had once been an uncomfortable cot was now a cold damp concrete floor, moss growing in corners nearby and filling the stony hallway with a humid and musty stench. There was a thick layer of dirt and dust on the ground beneath her as though no one had set foot in that place for a very long time. If she hadn't known better she thought she would've been in an abandoned city building. But the only cities in the world that she could think of that had been abandoned for enough time to create such a build up were far from where she was located with the exception of Chernobyl.

Somehow Scarlett knew she wasn't in Chernobyl. It was more likely that her subconscious was at it again, pulling her into a horrific nightmare that was sure to make her question her insanity and relive horrors from her past. Gingerly she climbed to her feet and was surprised when she felt no pain at all. That was very unlike reality and her imagination. Pain had been a constant.

Hadn't she been beaten around for the last few hours by Mikhail _and_ Scott? Something should hurt, even if just a little. Even her lungs didn't seem to hurt and she knew for a _fact_ that she had been coughing up a storm ever since she'd woken up to the water torture. Maybe _that_ had been a dream or maybe this was now; it was hard to tell the difference sometimes particularly with how crazy reality had become. Maybe it was _all_ a bad dream and she'd been laying in the stone hallway for some time now.

Unfortunately, Scarlett had a feeling that wasn't the case. She never had such fortunate luck before, not for a day in her life. It was sad to think that waking up in an abandoned building with no memory of how she'd gotten there was more fortunate than her reality. Most people would've considered that a pretty dreadful start to a day.

Her bare feet made no noise on the ground, but they left strange footprints of dripping black goop. Leaning against the brick wall on either side of her Scarlett lifted her foot and examined the bottom of it to find the same horrific wounds open and gushing the way that they had been in Afghanistan when they'd been first inflicted as part of her torture. The wounds on her feet kept returning to haunt her as if to prevent escape or slow her down even in her subconscious. But the blood dripping from them was different than it had ever been. It was sticky like tar, bubbling as it dripped across her feet, leaving long unnatural strings of goop stuck to the ground. As she placed her foot back down on the ground the pain surged through her legs and up to her knees.

Ah, there was the pain she'd become so familiar with.

Stumbling, Scarlett used the wall to help her move forward. The lights overhead in the hall continued to flicker like in a bad horror film as she made her way. Only a few feet ahead she could see an alcove jutting to the side and leading away from the main path. Away from the safety of the flickering lights overhead where she'd woken up she felt suddenly cold and distant. The sticky air that had hung around her faded immediately and left her feeling aloof and hollow. Uneasy already from the way her feet pained and the sudden change in atmosphere, she lost her breath when the light behind her flickered out.

Darkness was only a few feet away from her. It pulsed as though living and crept along the mossy stones beneath her bare and bloody feet. Scarlett could've sworn the darkness was alive and breathing, waiting for her to give into her curiosity and touch it so that it may consume her whole. Why was she so _sure_ that was what would happen to her if she went near the shadow?

Fear was something Scarlett had experienced on multiple occasions in the weeks past but never so intensely as she felt it in _that_ moment. What lay in that darkness was something she couldn't fathom, but it scared the hell out of her. In her mind's eye she saw demons and monsters waiting for her. If she turned her back on it would shadowy arms pull her closer to take what little light was left inside her or would she move forward and prevail as she hoped? Being afraid was one thing, letting fear cripple her and win was another and Scarlett was absolutely dreadful when it came to losing.

Trudging forward, Scarlett forced her focus onto the pain in her feet. It was a terrible thing to do but it was better than dwelling on the soul shattering darkness that lay behind her like a hungry horrible creature waiting for her to fall over and become a midnight snack. Reaching the alcove, Scarlett heard a pop behind her then a hiss. The light overhead had exploded and the frail glass of the bulb rained down behind her in a halo of sparks, leaving phantom trails of orange light in the shadows.

It was into the alcove or into the darkness and even if there was darkness beyond the doorway, there was a sliver of a chance that there _wasn't_ and Scarlett was willing to take that chance. Into the opening and across the wooden floor she went. What lay beyond was a staircase and unfortunately Scarlett lost her balance quite easily. One by one Scarlett fell down the wooden steps, reaching for a railing to help prevent any further damage but found nothing but the same smooth stone wall that had guided her to the staircase in the first place.

Smacking her head against the wall at the bottom she was surprised by the lack of pain but also by the fact that blood dripped down the back of her neck from where she'd struck her head. It was the same goopy black tar. Now she knew it _had_ to be a dream. When things didn't make sense, the only other option was that they weren't real and that would give her power. And while her subconscious was notorious for trying to trick her into believing she was grounded in reality it seemed it wasn't doing a terribly good job this time around. Scarlett had to put her faith in the things she knew she could trust. The fact that she would soon wake up was something she could trust but what was _really_ waiting for her in reality?

The next fight? Her next escape attempt? What would prevent her from being in the same exact position a month from now even if she did get away?

Scarlett wasn't sure how much of a fight was left within her after this. At least not for this sort of fight and not for awhile. Now sitting at the bottom of the stairs she looked up the stairwell encompassed in darkness. Something told her that if she crept back up the stairs she would no longer find the abandoned stone hallway and would instead find something only her nightmares could come up with. Her subconscious was turning out to be _kind_ of an asshole.

Why was she still fighting so hard if even her brain was betraying her?

What if she just _gave up?_ It could be easy. She could disappear into some far off country and hide where no one would _ever _find her. It would be a lonely life but one without prison cells and torture.

Had she brought this hell on herself? Self pity would do her no favors now nor would hiding fix any of the frustrations she'd created. All she could really do was trudge forward into the light and try to keep out of the darkness.

Her mind was also turning out to be a metaphorical son of a bitch.

Using the wall once again, Scarlett managed to put her weight back onto her battered feet and started back down the short hallway at the bottom of the wooden stairs. It was uninviting and uncomfortable but she continued forward anyway. Anything was better than the shadow creeping up behind her. The door at the end of the short hallway was familiar and odd, painted a pale jade green and chipping in various places with a small brass handle on the right side. She could've sworn that she'd seen it before but couldn't remember where. Honestly, how many doors had she been through in her life? Without the door being something truly spectacular it was unlikely she would recall exactly where it was from without more context to give her a hint.

Figuring there was little left for her to lose Scarlett pushed open the door and was surprised to see a scene from her past playing in front of her. Her body wouldn't move even when she tried so she could do nothing but watch. The door was easy to recognize now and it belonged to a hotel room she'd stayed in after a job in Japan. She'd invited Scott to come with her because they'd been fighting about not spending enough time together. _That_ she remembered. And there they were again, fighting in front of her, screaming at each other about something or other.

Scarlett was _never_ very good at having rational arguments with _anyone_. She remembered having fought tooth and nail against Tony Stark from the very beginning but their arguments had never been like the ones she'd had with Scott. The scene in front of her was muted, no one was speaking but they _were_ screaming and pointing angrily at each other. Scott's face was beet red and there was hurt written all over her face. In her mind she could hear the words they had shouted back and forth so she didn't need sound to confirm them.

When Scarlett had gotten changed that night she'd revealed the wounds she'd obtained on the job that had brought them there. It was one of her favorite places to take business opportunities since things usually went smoothly except for one or two hiccups and usually they were the fun kind. But she'd been thrown around and had suffered a number of wounds, including a nasty concussion that she'd had to see a doctor for before she'd headed back to meet Scott for the night. The real cause of the argument had been that she'd neglected to inform Scott that she had a job there in the first place.

That was how the fight had begun. She thought he'd been concerned for her well being back then but even now, as she watched the fight in front of her, she saw changes in the man who had been _so_ determined to take her out to dinner upon first meeting her that he'd asked incessantly until she had finally broken down and gone out with him just to get him to stop asking. No longer was he the man who had bought her flowers and gone out of his way to open doors for her. Not that she'd ever needed a chivalrous gentleman by her side, but any woman who said she _didn't_ like being treated like something precious was likely lying. It didn't make her weak, it made her feel special.

But that man was gone, even back then in Japan which was much further in the past than Scarlett liked to remember. They'd thrown things at each other and it hadn't ended well, meaning that Scarlett had a hotel bill that had pretty much cost her as much as the job had earned her. The next morning Scarlett had been surprised to see that Scott had decided to act as though nothing bad had happened. The night before he'd been prepared to end their relationship and then just like that he was back on board. Had she broken him? Or had he been planning to destroy her bit by bit even back then?

As the night wrapped up in front of her the lights overhead shattered just as the bulbs above ground had and Scarlett covered her eyes protectively. When she blinked her eyes open again she saw Scott standing alone on the balcony. He was talking to himself but again she couldn't make out the words that he was saying. It was like her life was playing in fast forward on mute and she couldn't do anything about it.

"She'll never be what I need her to be." The words came from everywhere except from Scott. Scarlett turned in place and looked for the source. Chills ran down her spine causing her to shiver and finally she stopped searching for the phantom voice that reverberated off of the stone walls that had reappeared in place of the hotel. Scott now stood in the center of the room and was staring straight at her. His blue eyes were gray and for some reason Scarlett couldn't get the thought that he was dead in front of her out of her head. "_Never._"

"Scott…" Scarlett felt her heart sink in her chest. How _hadn't_ she seen this coming? Was she too wrapped up in her own life to see his struggle? He had been suffering because of _her_. Maybe if she had let him go earlier then none of this would've happened to either of them. Then Scott disappeared and Scarlett was alone in the dark stone room that no longer resembled the hotel room in Japan.

"One of us has to change." Scarlett covered her ears and closed her eyes as the intrusive voice surrounded her as it had before. Was she losing her mind?

Dropping her arms to her sides when the voice faded, Scarlett stared in front of her in hopes he'd come back and they could fix things, so she could save him. What fresh new hell was this? As she took a step forward the lights snapped out again, but noiselessly and without the explosion that had scared her before. The darkness immediately engulfed her, the room again grew warm and thick as though filling with a horrible liquid. Scarlett skittered toward the wall opposite the one with the stairwell in hopes of finding an exit. Thicker the air became as she moved and wisps of something fowl in the darkness caught at her arms and legs, pulling at her and whispering nasty things just inside her ear.

It was a struggle to breathe, every time she inhaled she panicked and her breath came spilling past her lips in a rush, causing her head to spin. The fowl something in the dark grabbed her arm and pulled her so she nearly spun on her toes. Bloodied feet objected to the turn and she fell backwards, away from the something and barreled into a wooden door that cracked under her weight. It must have been a weak door, but Scarlett didn't have time to argue physics with partial realities. Closing her eyes, she curled forward to avoid cracking her head on the ground again. If she kept smacking her head on the ground like that then she was going to be sent to a mental facility for far different reasons than she had once _expected_ to be put away for.

Much to her surprise no horrible shadow hands grabbed her and dragged her back into the darkness. Scarlett opened one eye and then the other to find that she was staring up at a rock ceiling, rusty metallic lamps swaying overhead despite the lack of wind in the hall. Sighing with relief, Scarlett finally managed to breathe and leaned her head back on the stone floor. It was lukewarm and damp so she very quickly got up from where she'd been thrown despite her body's physical objections.

Leaning against the wall, Scarlett found that she could barely stand upright. Her arm was bleeding and her stomach ached. The constriction in her chest had returned full force and she coughed, even gagged. Burning with a mixture of tears and fever, Scarlett rubbed at her eyes and grimaced. How was she going to continue? What lesson was her subconscious trying to teach her now? When was the time to stop? When was it enough? There were too many questions that Scarlett couldn't answer.

And before Scarlett knew it the words weren't in her head anymore. Scott was standing at the other end of the hall but he wasn't looking at her, well, at least not that incarnation of her. Scarlett could see another vivid memory, one she'd repeated on multiple occasions in the month past.

"When is it enough, Scarlett? How many times do you have to almost die before it's too much?" Scott was shouting at her as she dug through her mail. It was the first time she had considered going back to her old job after she'd returned from the hospital. She had still been recovering from the wounds she'd obtained in Afghanistan. She didn't respond to him even then, because she hadn't understood the question. She did now, of course, but would it matter?

When was it too much? When did it get to the point that something mattered more than her work? Had she reached that time at last or would Tony be fighting a battle he couldn't win just like Scott had? Maybe it wasn't Scott at all, maybe it was _her_. Maybe she was the flawed one. Of course, she knew she was flawed, hell there were probably very few people who made as many mistakes as she had over the years but was she really _that_ beyond reprieve?

They continued to argue back and forth in front of her and then at last Scott revealed what he had clenched between his fingers and handed her the pamphlet from MedCo's facility in South Africa.

Her heart sunk. The betrayal must have started long before then in order for Scott to have set her up so seamlessly. It broke her heart to know that he must have been behind the torture in Afghanistan as well as what had happened with MedCo. There were scars she would never be rid of because of that time spent, both mental and physical and it was all her fault.

Slowly she covered her mouth and stifled a panicked and quiet sound of upset as she watched the fight continue. Scarlett hadn't wanted to work a regular job, never in her life. Not because they were boring, well not _only_ because they were boring, but because she was stubborn. A pathetic sound much like a whimper emerged from somewhere deep within her as she turned away from the fight. She couldn't watch it anymore. None of it had meant much when it had happened but now in reflection and knowing what she knew, it meant everything.

She had screwed up.

She had destroyed lives. Scott had lost his humanity all in an attempt to love her and she had never let him. She never would've or had any intention of being true to him for the rest of her days and had chosen to let him hang onto her because it was easier than telling him it was over long before they'd ended it. Cowardice was a word she'd refused to embody and now it had become the definition of her life.

"I can't do this." Scarlett shook her head, wiping her hand over her mouth and looking back toward the door she'd fallen through but it was no longer there. The ceiling was gone, the hallway was gone and she stood below a dark billowing sky, foreboding thunder echoing in the distance but no lightning there to illuminate the area further than a few feet. Vision blurred with tears, she felt them drip down her cheeks and over her hand. Wiping them away frantically she shut her eyes tightly. "I can't watch this anymore. Wake up, Scarlett… it's time to wake up. _Please._" Stomping her foot stubbornly against the ground she opened her eyes and tried to blink her tears away.

"And what makes you think that you're sleeping?" Scarlett looked up and saw her past self standing in front of her, bloody and broken and hanging from the ceiling by the shackles that she'd broken out of in Afghanistan. Scarlett's hand dropped from her mouth as she stared at her broken body. It was different seeing her mutilated form from someone else's view. It was horrifying. Scarlett's stomach lurched and she felt like she might vomit but refused to actually be sick.

"This isn't real. I can't watch this. _I can't_."

"This is your reality, Scarlett. Even if _this_ moment is not real it was once. The bad doesn't disappear simply because you wish it will." Her former self spoke with a voice much stronger than her own. When Scarlett looked back up the vision of her past life had disappeared and she was again alone. Where had the shackles been hanging from? Whatever had supported them had disappeared too. She hadn't taken the time to notice if the surroundings had been changed, she'd been too startled by what she was seeing and what she was hearing.

"I ruined him!" Scarlett finally shouted what she had been thinking since she'd seen Scott's mind twist and break in front of her at the bus stop. "I don't know when it began but I ruined him. I ignored that it was happening and I didn't even realize I ignored it because I was too swept up in my own selfish needs." Scarlett leaned her head back and tried to breathe but the air was too thick. "I need to wake up. I can't be here! I cannot deal with this right now!"

Something crashed nearby and drew her attention. The tears dried up and she blinked her swollen and puffy eyes so she could better see the source of the sound in front of her. Shadow had crept in with the fog and was getting ever closer, closing in on her like a coffin. From within the mist a figure that she recognized immediately emerged. Mikhail, his face completely swallowed by the black shadow stood feet away from her. The faceless representative of MedCo was shown as exactly what she viewed him as in her subconscious.

"You _can't_ deal with this? Well that's a problem now isn't it, Miss Damien?" His Russian accent somehow sounded crueler now in her head. Was he mocking her? Had he always been mocking her? Why was it suddenly bothering her that he was? Scarlett wasn't going to answer to him. She didn't owe Mikhail any explanation even in her head. But then again if this _was_ in her head, then it wasn't really Mikhail, was it? So who was asking that question? This psycho babble nonsense was starting to make her head hurt (or maybe it was the multiple blows to the head, but Scarlett would always argue it was the psycho babble).

"Blame me all you like, Scarlett. Blame Scott, you can even blame Tony Stark." Mikhail stood engulfed in shadow and held his arms out to either side. Despite being unable to see his face she could tell he was smiling. "But you know the truth as well as I do." Wiping her eyes free of tears again Scarlett took a daring step forward.

"And what is that, asshole?"

"That _you_ are the cause of all of this. The darkness, the torture, it's you Miss Damien." Scarlett felt cold when she realized he was right. How many times had others offered her a way out? Scott had done it, even Tony had, but she had declined and instead done what she had thought was best. No one else's opinion had been important enough to sway her moral compass. But was it _really_ her morality that was to blame?

When she turned her attention back to Mikhail he was gone, leaving her alone again under gloomy skies. The clouds opened up with a roar and rain poured from the heavens, but it was unlike any rain she had ever felt. It felt disgusting and unclean, warm and thick like something unpleasant she didn't want to think about. Where would she go now? Why didn't she wake up?

Scarlett turned to backtrack in hopes of finding somewhere to hide from the horrible disgusting rain, but instead shrieked when Mikhail appeared behind her. His head turned unnaturally, much like the horrible zombie hybrid monster that Erick had become but then he leapt on top of her and she slid across the pavement with a second cry.

When Scarlett opened her eyes again she was back in her cell with someone gently shaking her good arm in an attempt to wake her. Immediately she jumped up and reached for who grabbed her by the collar, prepared to press her forearm against their throat to cut off their windpipe if she could find the strength. But how had her arms become free? Was this still part of her dream? As her vision focused her jaw dropped open and she instantly let go of the man who was shaking her awake.

"S-Sergei?" Her voice cracked as she spoke and immediately she sat upright, pulling free of Sergei who had been trying to wake her up. It was obvious that he hadn't expected to find her inside the facility either, but it wasn't an unhappy reunion. A month ago Scarlett had met Sergei in the MedCo facility in South Africa where she had been held prisoner. He was a thug hired by MedCo to keep people like her in line, but he had been kind to her against his better judgment. When she'd first attempted escape, which was more like an attempt to memorize the layout of the facility and find where Scott was being held, she'd taken a few hits. Sergei, having pity on her, took care of the wounds she had suffered and had provided her with both cigarettes and alcohol to ease her nerves while she was there.

In return she had warned him that she was planning her escape and it wasn't going to be pretty. Consequently he'd managed to call in sick on the very day that the chaos had unfolded in South Africa and Iron Man had come to the rescue, leaving the building in shambles. But what was he doing there now in Russian? Was he still working for MedCo? By the look of him, Scarlett didn't think so. There was nothing about him that said he was one of the guards there. He'd freed her from the rope that had bound her to the cot and offered her a drink of water which she took greedily.

"I did not realize the woman we were looking for would be you. I wasn't given many specifics outside of description." He seemed to be caught between emotions. On one hand he was happy to see her and on the other hand she was being held by MedCo again and there was nothing positive to say about that from either of them.

"What?" Scarlett furrowed her brow. What did that mean? Her head was still spinning and she was finding it difficult to gather her thoughts. Between nightmares and torture Scarlett wasn't sure what to think or how to react anymore. "Wait, what are you doing here?" Sergei had shown up in her dreams before and had always been the voice of reason. So was she still dreaming or was this, in fact, reality? Pinching her arm proved to be of no help, though it did hurt considerably since she'd forgotten that she'd been _shot _there.

"We do not have much time, but I will tell you quickly. After we parted ways in South Africa I knew I couldn't return to a normal life or continue working for MedCo. So I came to Russia, my home, after putting my family into hiding so they would not suffer the wrath of the company when they discovered my motives, which happened far faster than I anticipated. Thankfully they are safe so not to worry, I know you would feel guilty even if I do not know you well. I found others like me when I arrived here… turns out MedCo has wronged many people. I brushed up on my English and soon we were a group of many fighting against MedCo to put a stop to their terrorism. There are groups like us all over the world, all thanks to you." Sergei bowed his head with a smile. There were tears in his eyes, but Scarlett tried not to see them. Why was he so emotionally charged?

Why wasn't she? Was she still too scared after that nightmare? Or perhaps she just felt far too guilty to be responsible for anything good that had come out of her shortcomings. Much of what had happened was her fault, but it was nice to know that somewhere along the line her good intentions had actually done something, well, _good_.

"Really? You… you really did that?"

"All because of you." Sergei pointed at her and then his face turned serious. There was little time for frivolity given the situation. Scarlett looked terrible. Even when he had been her caretaker while she'd been held captive by MedCo the month prior she had looked better than she did now. She'd lost weight thanks to the bouts of illness she'd struggled with, her skin was paler than it had been, and she was bloody in places he didn't want to think about. No one had taken the time to tend to her wounds, at least not properly, though Clint had done a decent job with what he'd been allowed to deal with.

"I'm… well, I'm proud of you, Sergei but what are you doing in here… with me? Is this…" She almost asked if things were real, but didn't want to alarm Sergei. There was already that look in his eyes, the look that told her that he was worried about her. She must have looked a fright, covered in bruises and blood and sweating up a storm. Closing her eyes tight, she rubbed her temples and tried to force the fever away. Not that fevers worked like that, but mind over matter was still her mantra and about the only thing she could trust right now.

"There is no time for this, unfortunately." Sergei smiled softly, his dark eyes glistening to think that Scarlett was proud of him. It felt strange for her to see the effect she had on this man who she had only met on the one prior occasion. Would he be proud of her for what she'd done or would he be disappointed to learn of the person she had become and had been over the years?

Would how he felt matter to her even if he _had_ been proud of her? Scarlett was so confused and out of it she wasn't sure what to think. She didn't have time for this mental conflict. But when _would_ she have time for it? What was it that her subconscious had been trying to tell her other than the obvious? She had to start taking responsibility for her mistakes, even if she hadn't meant to make them. But wasn't that what she was trying to do now by chasing after MedCo? Somehow she'd only succeeded in making a mess of things and nothing more. If she got out of this place thanks to Sergei's help then she would have some serious rethinking of her life to do.

On top of that she would definitely have to do something about her health in general, mental and physical. It was clear that she couldn't go on like this much longer. If MedCo didn't kill her, something else would.

"Are you alright?" She felt hands in her hair and blinked back into reality. Had she really faded out there for a second because she was so lost in her thoughts? Without Tony there to distract her she seemed unable to focus. When the hell had that happened?

"Yeah, sorry… sorry, Sergei, I'm just not feeling well. I think I might have a concussion or two… or three." Scarlett nodded resolutely and was pleased when the world didn't spin around her.

"There isn't much time left. The man who helped us get in here to you is in trouble. I can help you out of here _but…_"

"I don't like when things end with a 'but'." Scarlett smirked, but wasn't feeling as confident as she was trying to act.

"Tony Stark has been taken by MedCo. He contacted some of my peers in Afghanistan and they led me to him."

"What?" Scarlett stood up, angry. For a brief moment it was easy to forget about the pain and illness. How had this come to pass? The one thing she didn't want to happen had happened! She had fought impossibly hard to keep Tony safe and still, _still,_ MedCo had taken the only thing that mattered to her now. "How the hell did that happen? Afghanistan? What the hell was he doing there?"

"He came here to help you about Afghanistan I do not know. I did not know it was you until I found you of course… but I can't say I am surprised. He created a diversion so that we could get in to save you and then take down the facility from the inside. Any minute they are going to discover our treachery and the guards will be all over us. I cannot go back for Tony Stark. I must only push forward."

"But I can go back." Scarlett nodded resolutely but knew that in her condition she wasn't likely going to do anyone any favors.

"If that is what you wish." Sergei placed his hands on her shoulders and looked at her seriously. "But I would recommend you getting out as quickly as you can. We are going to raid the laboratories in search of antidotes and formulas to help those who have been infected by MedCo's drug trials. I have fifty men strong and we might not be enough to succeed. I cannot spare any to help you in your efforts."

"I didn't expect you to. I can do this."

"Here," Sergei pulled a 9mm handgun from his holster and handed it to her. Then after reaching into his pocket he handed her a lock pick. "This will get you through most doors. It has proven to work for us thus far. I have provided you with the means of your escape Scarlett and what you do with them is up to you." Carefully, Sergei brushed her hair out of her face and left a soft fatherly kiss on her forehead. "I am glad to have seen you again."

"And I, you," said Scarlett then checked the handgun she'd been given. It had a full clip of ammunition but she would have to use it sparingly if she wanted to make it last her entire way out. There was still the pocket knife she'd hidden from the guards so she would make use of close combat to the best of her ability before resorting to her gun. Oh, how she longed for her Tesla glove.

"Good luck." Sergei turned without another word and disappeared through the doorway. If the metallic gun in her hand wasn't real she would've thought the entire scene had been a hallucination. Even though her stomach bubbled and churned with guilt from the damage she'd caused in the month prior, she knew that at least one good thing had happened. Scott may have been destroyed because of her selfishness over the years but Sergei had become a better man than she ever would've expected because of her kindness.

Cracking her neck Scarlett considered her next move and what options she had. Her body was broken and she was sicker than she'd been in weeks. It was possible she'd had a psychotic break sometime in the last twenty four hours and could barely tell reality from her nightmares. But Tony had sacrificed himself so that Sergei and his men could break into the facility to save her. Granted, they were also searching for an antidote or a cure to help the people affected by MedCo. Somehow she knew the motive was _her_ when it came to Tony's actions.

He'd sacrificed himself for _her_.

No one had done that for her before. Any questions she'd had about Tony in her mind after what had transpired with Scott in the past day faded from her thoughts. She knew what she had to do. Scarlett had to delve deeper into the MedCo building and find where they were holding Tony and get him out of there safely. If Mikhail did anything to him, she would shoot him between the eyes without a single regret. She'd told herself several times that she was done playing games with MedCo but this time it was different.

This time she wasn't doing it for herself. She was doing it for Tony. After all, she wasn't sure how she'd survive after all was said and done without him there to drive her crazy with bad seventies metal.


	32. Preparations

_[[A little late today, had a migraine and such. Sorry.]]_

"…Tony, are you still there?" The annoying hissing in Tony's ear startled him awake from his temporary stupor. A blow to the head had been more than enough to knock him unconscious. In his mind's eye he saw the horrible zombie-like creature that had mindlessly come lumbering toward him in the abandoned area surrounding the MedCo building. What had he been _thinking_ giving himself up so easily and going in there without his Mark armor? The zombie-Erick-monster wouldn't have stood a chance against his repulsors.

The answer was that he hadn't been thinking very much at all, he supposed. As previously stated on numerous occasions Tony Stark had a tendency to over think things which was why he often acted on impulse. It kept his mind from dwelling unnecessarily on things of little importance. Unfortunately, this also landed him into more trouble than he could remember if asked to make a list of all the troubles he had suffered. Truth be told, Tony couldn't even remember how much trouble it had gotten him into in the last _month_ nonetheless overall so the question would've been fruitless.

But this particular instance outside of Moscow certainly topped the list, at least for that particular month.

Vision still blurred thanks to the blow he'd taken to the head, Tony wanted to reach up and rub his eyes but found that his arms were rather stuck, shackled behind his back. At least he _guessed_ they were held by shackles, judging by the metal that was rubbing against his wrists and making them raw already. Blinking his eyes again in an attempt to clear his vision, he heard the static in his earpiece that had woken him up and tried once more to shake his head in an attempt to make it stop. Shaking had worked for a second but soon the sound was cutting out again. Maybe there was something in the walls of the building that was preventing his signal from getting through properly.

Then Tony reconsidered. There was no way that MedCo could beat _his_ technology; it just wasn't possible! Arrogance was practically Tony's middle name (though it was truly Edward) but half of what he was arrogant about (and he would argue far more than half if asked) he had good reason to be. Technology was an extension of Tony's genius, practically. It was no longer something that he worked with or advanced, not since he'd donned the metallic suit and became Iron Man. Now it was _part_ of him and Tony had gone to great lengths to take care of every part of him, including his technology.

No, something must have been wrong with the earpiece after the struggle. If he could get to the small and easily concealed piece of machinery to fix it then he could communicate with Rhodey but that was proving far more difficult than he would have liked it to be considering that his hands were bound behind his back and his feet were bound to the legs of a chair that was bolted in place on the linoleum floor.

Ignoring the static that tickled his sinuses and made him shiver, Tony took in his surroundings since his vision had finally focused. He was being held in an insulated concrete room where the walls were painted white but had faded to an unpleasant gray. The linoleum floor had once been white to match the paint but the grout between the false tiles was tinged with pink and brown. All that Tony could think to have made that color could've been blood and he _really_ didn't like the idea of that. Hopefully it wasn't _Scarlett's_ blood. That would've been the worst thing to happen that day so far and a great many terrible things had happened that particular day. Had Mikhail tortured her like he'd promised he would? Somehow Tony had no doubt that he had.

So much for coming to her rescue like a white knight, anyway. At this rate by the time he got to her she'd be dead.

"Stop it, right there, Tony." He muttered to himself though he wished Jarvis was there to reassure him that Miss Damien's familiar heat signature was somewhere nearby but the earpiece merely continued to buzz hopelessly.

"Tony… you? Can't… static." Rhodey's voice cut in and out of his earpiece with random words that even Tony Stark's genius couldn't string together into a proper sentence.

"Rhodes?" Still, as annoying as the buzzing was, if he could at least _sort of_ hear Rhodey and that was better than hearing no one at all. Talking to someone else could keep his mind occupied for the time being. It gave him further hope that he would still be able to call the Mark VII to his aid at some point. He hadn't anticipated having to manage escape without it so he had to hold onto that hope that he could still get to it. Tony was more than capable of protecting himself in physical confrontation but he wasn't confident the way that he was when he was in the suit and that was ultimately his downfall.

It was difficult for him to admit but he _knew_ it was the truth. The suit had become a safety net in the last two years and without it, Tony felt much like a child without his favorite blanket. Tony tilted his head to the side as the earpiece buzzed again annoyingly, making his ear itch. Leaning his head to the side to reach his shoulder, Tony rubbed his ear against his greased up t-shirt and tried to relieve the itch he felt but it was no use.

"Tony? Tony, can you hear me?" Rhodey's voice came through far clearer and the annoying buzzing finally stopped though the itch remained.

"Rhodey?" Tony popped his head back up but was met with the annoying hissing once more. "Damnit, _come_ on…" Tony grunted, leaning to itch his ear again and was surprised when the static interference faded again and Rhodey's voice made it through the earpiece without getting garbled up by whatever had broken in his earpiece.

"Tony, Tony, are you there? I thought I heard you for a second… Damnit Jarvis can you get him back online…?"

"Really? Really, this is how things are going to happen right now? Son of a…" Tony grumbled when he realized that he had to lean his head against his shoulder to make any communication possible with Rhodey, Sergei, or Jarvis.

"Tony? Thank god! I'm almost there. I need to know what you want me to do when I get there. You'll never believe what…" Elated, Rhodey was practically laughing through the earpiece.

"Calm down, Rhodes." Tony tried to wiggle his head to the side and find a more comfortable way to compress the earpiece but knew that he would have to sacrifice comfort for communication. Tony was not used to making sacrifices of any kind so this was asking very much of him. "Something in the earpiece broke. I'm going to have to get a better look at it but it seems when I squish it, it works fine."

"I've never seen a piece of machinery that you can't fix, bro."

"Bro_? Really?_"

"I'm nervous, throw me a bone here, Tony. I've been trying to get your attention for an hour almost." Rhodey chuckled, relieved to hear that Tony had retained his sense of humor. Surely with the amount of sarcasm in his voice, he couldn't have been in _too_ much trouble.

"I'm going to continue to harass you about this when I have proper time. Look, my hands are in some kind of cuffs or something bound between this… horrible uncomfortable chair that should be banned, but I'm going to have to pick my way out of those before I can get to the earpiece which means I have to hunch down like Quasimodo if you want to talk to me. What did the people who made those chairs in Afghanistan make these too?" Rhodey laughed on the other end of the earpiece and Tony pouted. He did not quite see the same humor in his situation that Rhodey seemed to.

Rolling his shoulders in an attempt to find a comfortable position Tony grunted in annoyance but somehow managed to move his wrists closer together. There were no tools available for him to pick the lock with but he might have been able to break them anyway if he could figure out how they were put together. Tony had made his way out of handcuffs a number of times for a series of reasons, and hoped that his after-hours extracurricular activities would at last benefit him in a completely different kind of way.

"When I get there what do you want me to do? It won't be long now." Rhodey cleared his throat once the fit of laughter had ceased. Tony had always been a pro when it came to clearing the tense air in a bad situation and this wasn't any different. "I've got backup on the way. S.H.I.E.L.D. is on their way, they've cleared troops with the Russian government, god only knows _how_ Agent Coulson pulled that off but…"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. sent troops in? I had a feeling they knew more about what was going on here than they let on. I should've contacted Coulson ages ago but I've been sort of preoccupied the last few days." Tony murmured and closed one of his eyes to focus on the handcuffs that bound him. They were far sturdier than any he'd ever encountered. Even when he'd been held captive by the terrorists in Afghanistan he hadn't been bound the way he was now. MedCo obviously wasn't going to take any chances when dealing with Tony Stark and it was about time they started treating him more like a threat and less like a nuisance. Though he supposed he would've preferred if they had underestimated him just one more time.

"Well, they've apparently been on MedCo's tail ever since your girl caused that explosion down south in Africa."

"I've got so many innuendos and so little time." Tony muttered as he continued to struggle against his bonds. Rhodey chuckled again.

"Stop it, how am I supposed to keep taking this seriously if you keep joking around like that?"

"The real question is how are you _not_ taking this seriously? I mean, you're usually Captain serious. Why am I in charge of the seriousness? I hate it, Rhodey."

"That's Lieutenant Colonel serious to you."

"My bad, I always get the military ranks all confused and you know how little I actually care." Tony rolled his eyes and then relaxed his arms and let out a deep and heavy sigh of frustration. "I can't get these damn handcuffs off."

"Tony, try to take it easy okay?" Rhodey was glad that Tony kept breaking the tension, but he wasn't so sure it was as good a thing as he felt it was. Tony was in serious trouble and he hoped he realized that.

"Says the guy who _isn't_ tied to a chair."

"You never answered my question. You're really good at avoiding uncomfortable ones but this is important."

"I mostly did that because you won't like my answer," said Tony while he tried again to get his way out of the handcuffs in vain. Maybe they really _were_ shackles. They were made out of far thicker material than the standard issue handcuffs that were used in the United States. But who the hell used shackles anymore? This wasn't a medieval torture chamber in some fairy tale it was a prison cell outside of Moscow. Did they even make shackles anymore? Was there a shackle business outside of those made for movies and those who took Dungeons and Dragons very seriously?

"Tony," groaned Rhodey in disapproval. "Why not? Why won't you let me storm the prison? That seems like the only logical thing to do."

"It's not a prison, first of all, I just happen to be in a prison _cell_. Get your facts straight Rhodey. From what I saw on the blueprints it… it looks a lot like a factory… or a hospital. There are medical wings and computer cubicles and then horrible underground operating rooms and prison cells, one that I'm being kept in."

"You can't keep avoiding the question. I'm finding it less and less funny."

"I'm not, I'm just… my thoughts are kind of everywhere right now. I'm uncomfortable and itchy… it's all bad for thinking." Tony grumbled as he continued, developing a crick in his neck from having sat hunched over for so long. "I need you to hold back when you get here which I'm sure will be any minute, right?"

"Why would I hold back though? Tony, do you hear how stupid you sound?"

"How many times have you said that and been horribly wrong about how stupid I am? We could check the IQ tests again and see which one of us is the genius here, if you like. I'm pretty sure the six doctorates on my wall at home would argue with you."

"You're not acting much like a genius right now. We have a real chance at stopping MedCo right _now_ but you want me to hold back and give them time to realize what you're up to?" There was suddenly a great amount of noise from Rhodey's end of the line and Tony could only guess that meant one thing. His friend arrived on the scene and was weighing his decisions. S.H.I.E.L.D. would likely be arriving right after him and it would only be a matter of time before Rhodey couldn't keep them from storming the gate. After his argument with Scott, Tony knew in his heart that if the military rushed in guns blazing then he would kill Scarlett so that no one else could have her. It may have sounded crazy and irrational but Scott was the definition of crazy and irrational.

"I've got a bad feeling." Tony wasn't sure how to explain his line of thinking to Rhodey and he was damn tired of getting a responsibility speech from his friend. Why was Rhodey even arguing with him about it? He knew what they were doing was the right thing to do, even if it wasn't the smartest thing to do.

Hadn't Rhodey been harassing him for years about his moral compass? Now that it was finally on the level the argument had changed into something else entirely.

"About what?"

"About what would happen to Scarlett if you stormed in here and if I summoned my suit. I need to… I need to find her first and then you can set the place on fire for all I care." He heard Rhodey's annoyed groan but didn't care what he was thinking. Tony's head and heart weren't in the wrong place. This was about Scarlett whether he wanted it to be or not. It had _alway_s been about Scarlett and while she may have hated that and he hated it too, that was the truth. MedCo and Scarlett were in the midst of an all out war and the body count was growing with each battle. Tony didn't see a way she could win without someone by her side.

"_Tony._"

"Don't," positively exasperated after arguing while trying to free himself sitting in an odd position, Tony managed to silence his friend with the tone of his voice. "I've got to play hero for just a little longer and then you can send in the cavalry."

"It's just me out here for the time being anyway. If I came in then they'd kill you and they'd kill Scarlett. You're right about that. But when S.H.I.E.L.D. gets here with backup Tony, I'm sending them in. I don't care who you have in there and who's tied up where… this has to _end._ Someone's going to wind up dead and I don't want it to be you."

"I know, Rhodes." Tony continued at the handcuffs on his wrists, his fingers becoming raw from the effort.

"_Wait…_" Rhodey lost his breath as he spoke. Something must have been going on wherever he'd landed. Was MedCo waiting for backup to arrive for Tony? Could they have been that clever?

"What? What's going on?" Tony couldn't take many more surprises at this rate. His blood pressure was already through the roof. There was a shuffling sound outside of his door and it was making him increasingly nervous. Was someone listening to him or was someone waiting to enter? Or maybe he was being paranoid and it was just a guard there left to keep an eye on him. Either way, it was setting Tony's anxiety off and his heart beat faster behind the arc reactor in his chest.

"They're evacuating… Tony, there are people being led out of the facility. I can't tell if they're your guys or if they're… if they're actually ordering an evacuation because they know there are intruders." Rhodey was quieter than before, as though he didn't want anyone to overhear their conversation.

"Damnit, these handcuffs are way harder to pick than the ones Scarlett used…" Tony cursed again seemingly ignoring Rhodey's comment.

"Did you hear me, Tony?"

"Yeah, they're probably my guys. There are no sirens going off in here okay? Not yet at least. I know we likely don't have much time before they're in lockdown mode or they start evacuating but… if people are fleeing then it's likely my guys bringing out prisoners or important folks. Let me know if you see Scarlett, okay?"

"I don't know what Scarlett looks like, Tony, because someone refuses to send me a picture."

"Because you can't have her, she's _mine!_" Tony laughed but then froze when he heard sounds of scraping outside of his cell again. There was definitely someone on the other side, he knew he wasn't _that_ paranoid. Hopefully they couldn't hear him through the heavy door that kept him imprisoned within the cell. "Don't come in until I say so. Or try not to."

"I'm not going to miss the chance to take down these people, Tony."

"It's not going to mean anything if Scarlett's dead, Rhodey!" He countered and Rhodey silenced on the other end of the line. "If they get away now we will find them again and there will be other chances to stop them but I'm not going to get them now at the expense of her life or mine. Some things are worth the risks, Rhodey, you taught me that." Those were the last words Tony said to Rhodey before the door to his cell opened. He'd made little to no progress on the handcuffs behind his back and he had a feeling he wouldn't get the chance when he saw who had walked through the door.

A bulky Russian man, wearing a dark expression on his long thick face with bags under his eyes walked into the room with two men behind him. The men stood on either side of the door to guard it and said nothing but Mikhail looked triumphant. Rhodey was no longer in his ear, there wasn't even the sound of buzzing coming from the damaged earpiece anymore now that Tony had sat upright.

Mikhail didn't say a word, but he did drag in a cart behind him and wheeled it so that it was set next to Tony. Walking around the chair he made sure the bonds were tight in place and that Tony wasn't going to be able to move anywhere. On the cart was a machine that Tony recognized and his heart immediately went into his throat. It was a battery. Not just a regular battery but more like a powerful generator. Attached to it were several electrodes. On the shelves of the cart were several other unpleasant looking devices that were obviously also used for torture.

Instantly Tony knew what the point of this exercise was. It wasn't to cause him pain, though that would be the ultimate result. Mikhail wanted Tony to know that when they'd talked about what Scarlett was going to go through on his way to Moscow, Mikhail had been very serious about the plans to torture her. If this was what they had in store for him he could only imagine what they'd had in store for Scarlett. And if she knew that he was being held captive too it would only be worse.

Mikhail was damn good at his job. Just by pushing a cart into the room he'd managed to scare the living hell out of Tony so badly that he'd forgotten to breathe and ended up coughing and gagging for oxygen. There was little emotion on the Russian man's face and he hummed while he worked. There was a pair of sheers that he grabbed off of the cart, they were either rusted or covered in blood; Tony preferred to think that they were rusted. And he was glad that was the decision he'd made because soon the sheers were cutting through his shirt and his undershirt and leaving his stomach and chest exposed.

For a long moment Mikhail stared at the arc reactor in wonder. Tony panicked. What if Mikhail took the thing out? He'd die. He'd die a horrible painful death as tiny bits of shrapnel made their way into his heart. Then he'd choke to death slowly. On his own blood, he would choke to death and he'd never save Scarlett, marry her, have kids, or even have sex again. These things usually didn't pass through his thoughts but they sure were now and Tony had to grit his teeth to keep any of the panic and emotion from reading all over his face.

Surely Mikhail could sense his fear, but there was no way he would know just how _terrified_ he'd made Tony with those few simple motions. He couldn't have possibly known about Tony's tendency to over think his every action. Mikhail tapped the reactor but didn't tug at it or make any attempts to pull it out and for that Tony was thankful. But what came next was just as terrifying as the concept of it being removed.

The electrodes on the cart were attached to him, one to his reactor, and the other two on his stomach. Tony didn't want to correct Mikhail on where to put the electrodes but was thankful only one of them was touching the reactor that was inside of his body. It caused enough irritation in his chest without their being an electrical current passing through it. No one seemed to stop to think how uncomfortable it was to have an electromagnet inside his chest, but Tony had learned to deal with it and now it wasn't so bad.

"I don't believe that I have introduced myself properly yet, Mr. Stark." Mikhail finally broke the tense quiet. "My name is Mikhail."

"I'd say nice to meet you but… ya know, circumstance and all that." Tony couldn't help himself, though his voice quavered and betrayed his air of confidence.

"I cannot decide if it was noble of you to sacrifice yourself for her or just plain stupid." He walked behind Tony's chair, his hands neatly behind his back as he paced. Clearly he was biding time to set Tony's nerves on edge and unfortunately it was working pretty well. Tony was nervous as hell and wished that if he was going to be tortured, Mikhail would get it over with already.

"I'm hoping a little bit of both or that it will at least get me a few brownie points." Tony tried not to act nervous but he was sure his voice was a few octaves higher than it usually was, though if Mikhail didn't know much about him then it might not be the biggest tell for him. But he had the feeling that Mikhail was well versed in torture and interrogation and that he knew _exactly _what Tony was thinking and how he was feeling despite his snarky retort.

"I see why she likes you," laughed Mikhail, clicking his tongue with amusement. For some reason Tony got the distinct feeling that he wasn't smiling despite his obvious amusement. What did that mean by that anyway? Was that a compliment or an insult? It didn't really matter, but Tony was thankful to think about anything other than Scarlett's torture or the electrodes on his body.

"You told me you'd let her go if we did this."

"That was a lie." Mikhail shrugged as though it were nothing, walking in front of Tony once again. "But you knew that, didn't you? That's why you tried to plan a break in to save her. That didn't go very well for you, now did it? Weren't anticipating Erick, were we?"

"What the hell is _wrong_ with that guy?" Tony widened his eyes and for once his distraction was genuine and he was curious. "I mean, no offense or anything, but the only time I've seen anything like that before is in a horror film and not a good horror film… I mean, not a bad one either but…" Tony drifted off when Mikhail grabbed his throat and shoved his head back against the chair.

"He was my _friend_." Mikhail growled and for the first time Tony could see genuine emotion in the older man's eyes. He practically spat at Tony as he spoke and Tony knew he had hit a nerve. "Scarlett shot him between the eyes… in cold blood." Tony hadn't known that or had he? Hadn't Scarlett mentioned some nasty business that had happened during her escape? He couldn't remember, the stories were starting to blur together. The last month had been far too intense for his liking. Desperately he thought of taking Scarlett to Paris and getting away from it all for just a little while. Reality was turning into a curse but even if he only ever got a week to spend with her drama free it would be worth the fight.

Before Tony had realized it someone had flipped the switch on the generator and his whole body convulsed. The metal of the reactor burned his flesh and the reactor ran hot, almost as hot as it had when he'd made love to Scarlett. Tony tried not to bite his tongue and to keep control of his body but between the handcuffs and the metallic bonds on his feet, he was suffering. Every nerve in his body was crying out in pain and he couldn't escape screaming in misery as the electricity passed through his body.

Then all at once it stopped and Tony gasped for breath greedily. The reactor was still burning, overloaded with energy from the added boost the electricity had given it. Thankfully it hadn't given out and it was prepared for ten times that voltage if need be, but it certainly hadn't been good for his heart, that was for sure.

"I'm sure that it wasn't in cold blood, you were holding her hostage if you remember… you forced her hand." Tony gasped for breath and gritted his teeth then stomped his foot against the ground the best he could behind his bonds. "Son of a bitch! That hurt!" He could hear the static in his ears again and hoped that Rhodey would know to keep his mouth shut. Tony needed that earpiece to stay in his ear and not to break any further or be found by Mikhail. Though it was possible that the current that had passed through him had already destroyed the electronic device hidden in his ear and he was worrying for nothing. Mikhail punched Tony hard in the stomach and Tony gagged and coughed in response but couldn't hunch over the way his body wanted to.

"She left him for dead in that damned explosion she caused when she was supposed to be building for us! Left him for me to find, maimed and dead, his body broken! So I brought him back! Brought him back as half the man he was but with a stronger body so he could still do some good."

"I _knew_ that thing was a zombie." Tony mumbled and his stomach ached from the rings that Mikhail wore on his right hand when he'd punched him.

"_It_ was my friend. And he had a mind of his own until that bitch… do you know what she did? I sent him down there to take care of her and get revenge… So she could see what she had done and… she set him on _fire._"

"That explains a lot more." Tony tightened his lips together until they turned white and nodded his head slightly. "He certainly did look like a burn victim… bacon I might say." Tony winced, preparing to be punched and exhaled in relief when Mikhail didn't bother. The older man walked away from him and Tony stared wide eyed ahead of him and mentally coached himself for the next hit, the next electrical charge. How the hell was he going to get to Scarlett in this condition?

He wasn't. Rhodey had been right. There was no chance for him to save her this way. Tony was going to end up dead at this rate before he managed to get out of his handcuffs or shackles; whatever they turned out to be.

"My partner thought it would be a good investment to have _two_ geniuses but I have no interest in your talents. I'm guessing you know that though."

"Hey," pouted Tony, though he knew he shouldn't have been objecting. His ego was a very precious thing and he was used to it being stroked, not belittled. Tony was starting to understand why Scarlett wouldn't feel safe until Mikhail and MedCo were off of her back. The lengths he had gone through to get her were astounding.

"No, you are very intelligent Mr. Stark but you would be just as much trouble as she is and you are damaged beyond repair. There is no use for you here." He knew that Mikhail was referring to the arc reactor again. It wasn't likely that any experiments would work on Tony. He'd probably die on the table before they could accomplish anything worthwhile. But Scarlett was relatively healthy, at least in comparison to him. The worst that had happened to her was the chemical spill she'd had on her leg the month prior and that had long healed up. Though he suspected she was probably still getting over whatever sickness she'd come down with and Tony still hoped that it wasn't something MedCo had designed. He was starting to think that maybe she really had been infected with something or other. After all, Mikhail was turning out to be just as psychotic as Scott was so why shouldn't Tony believe that he'd managed to poison her over the weeks past?

"Yeah, I know. The arc reactor is too much of a hassle for you and you're not making it any better either. If you didn't want me then why make the deal with me in the first place?" Tony was finally catching his breath, but his stomach was churning. Mikhail turned in a rage and smashed his hand hard across Tony's face in a slap. The rings on his hand cut open the flesh at Tony's cheekbone and he winced but bit his lip to stifle the hiss that threatened to escape. Mikhail wasn't going to get the satisfaction of hearing his pain, at least as much as Tony could control.

"To use against _her._" Mikhail narrowed his eyes at Tony and then turned on the generator again, resulting in another gargled scream from Tony who convulsed in his chair. It was just enough electricity to cause him pain but not enough to kill him or destroy any of his faculties. Tony was only going to suffer from it, nothing worse, though he wasn't sure how fortunate that was for him. "If she had just followed along with our plans like that son of a bitch boyfriend had promised she would then it wouldn't have come to this! Our whole plot had to change because of her! Because of _her_ suddenly deciding to be a good guy! Oh she will _suffer_. Do you know how she will suffer, Tony Stark?" Mikhail cut the power again but grabbed Tony's neck and squeezed tightly.

"Shut up." Tony growled through gritted teeth. His fingers and toes had gone numb and he was sure that the shackles were leaving burns on his wrists but he wasn't going to give up, not yet. The more Mikhail talked, the more determined Tony was to find his way out with Scarlett and to leave this whole life behind.

"I'm going to cut her open tomorrow. I could just as easily take away her free will… she would never be able to object but I won't do that, not quite yet. Do you know why?" Tony gritted his teeth and stared at the ceiling, trying to gather his breath again. He wasn't sure how much of the electrocution he could take before the arc reactor burst or something worse. "I want her to know that she's lost and horribly. I want her to beg me to kill her… and I want her to know that I took you from her. She will know that it is _her_ fault that you ended up here."

"No, I made my own decisions and wound up here by my own devices."

"Because of _her._"

"Because of _me._" Tony gritted his teeth as Mikhail smacked him hard in the face again and then again.

"Perhaps we will see how you feel about that by the time we're done. I can't wait to see the look on her face when I tell her what she's done." Mikhail gritted his teeth.

"This wasn't part of the deal, Mikhail." Tony whispered, his body growing weaker. He could hear the buzzing in his ear again. Nothing was going according to plan. He'd never be able to save Scarlett in this much pain. And somehow he knew she would never forgive herself for what had been done to him even if he didn't blame her in the least. Tony should've never left his suit. He should've never told Rhodey to wait.

His plan was falling apart in front of him and come morning he would have to watch whatever torture was in store for the woman he potentially had wanted to spend the rest of his life with. There wasn't much worse Tony could think of than being unable to save the one person who had changed his entire lease on life. The things he would miss out on were haunting him in the back of his thoughts.

"I don't care." Mikhail stepped away from Tony, releasing his grip on the man's neck and then flipped the switch on the generator again. He watched Tony's body twitch and the arc reactor in his chest glow brighter and brighter with a wicked smile on his face.

All Tony could think about was pain and when he closed his eyes he swore he could see Scarlett fading away from him. Maybe Tony shouldn't have underestimated Scott and he knew now that definitely shouldn't have underestimated Mikhail.


	33. Backfired

_[[Sorry for no chapter last week, guys. I had a family member pass away in October and we had to go and clean out her house out of state. It was a lot of work and I didn't have any time to write. But we're back on track now.]]_

Having traded shifts with one of the other guards that night so that he could be at the far end of the building, guiding in some of the trucked shipments of supplies for MedCo, Clint was more than preoccupied. Trucks had come and gone and he'd dropped no less than fourteen boxes while they unloaded. But now there was very little to do but wait for the reason he'd taken the shift that evening anyway. He was expecting a visitor.

The other guard he'd been partnered with for the night was stationed at the other end of the room now that the trucks had been sent on their way. The hours that past were spent with him half drifting to sleep or sometimes making conversation with Clint who had very little to say in response. To fit in amongst their kind he had to be quieter than he usually would've been.

When Clint had instructed Scarlett to be kind to the guards so that she would receive kindness in return he'd hoped he'd made the right decision. Some of them could be cruel and Scarlett had obviously been through enough though Clint was only aware of a fraction of how much.

Many of the guards were aware of _exactly_ what MedCo was doing and wanted a share in the glory if they succeeded. Scarlett was lucky that most of the guards had pity on the women who were being held and often were far kinder than they were to the men who were imprisoned. A pretty face went a long way in situations like that and Clint both knew and understood why. But then again, many of the guards _were_ ruthless and a number of them had been briefed on the situation that had been brewing with Scarlett. She was to be treated as a threat at all times and a few of the guards took their jobs _very_ seriously.

Knowing what he was going to do that night the minutes seemed to tick on slower than ever while Hawkeye waited for his window of opportunity appear from behind the curtains.

After an agonizing few hours a loud thud behind him drew his attention toward the far end of the loading dock. Clint casually watched the guard drop to the ground in a heap then turned his attention back toward the large bay doors to keep a look out in case anyone saw, well, anyone besides _him_ saw. Shuffling signaled that a struggle continued on at the other end of the room but Clint continued to pay it no mind. He'd just be getting in the way if he made a move to do anything about it. Shadow figures played on the bay doors in front of him so quickly that before he knew it, the struggle had ended.

Soon, without any sound of footsteps, a woman stood next to him, wiping her hands in front of her. Clint turned his gaze to the much shorter woman only momentarily before looking back toward the large gate. Next to him she held out her left arm and fiddled with a bulky piece of technology around her wrist. A cartridge dropped onto the ground before she replaced it with another.

"You couldn't have had the decency to choke him out with your thighs? Being tazed by that thing is almost torture." Still Clint didn't bother making eye contact with the woman and instead checked the ammunition clip in his gun to make sure it was fully loaded.

"Is that what _you_ would've done?" Natasha's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Yes, actually, it is." Clint deliberated his answer then nodded his head resolutely and stuck to it. "It's good to see you, Tasha." Natasha bowed her head to acknowledge him in return then held out two clips of ammunition to her colleague.

"Are you ready?" Turning away from the loading docks, Natasha took in the large room, seemingly sizing up their options. She'd been preparing for this moment since she'd left Scarlett at the airport.

"Me? I was just waiting on _you_. You have no idea how slow time goes when you're waiting." Clint turned and started toward the large double doors at the far end of the room. There was enough space in the loading dock for four semi trucks to pull in if necessary but right now the doors were securely locked. Due to the sensitive nature of their current "cargo" the entire building had been locked down after the final shipment. Though, Clint had become aware that there were men in black sneaking through the lower levels evacuating patients and digging around in the laboratories. He had a feeling that they were working with the so called _good guys_ so he'd ignored their presence as blissfully as the other guards who hadn't even noticed them.

Natasha rolled her eyes before following her comrade. Across her back she had something he would want so with little time, despite her stature, she caught up to him. Near the double doors she stopped him and held out the long black object. Clint took it eagerly, his eyes sparkling playfully.

"You're too much like Ronin without this."

"You're always right, Tasha what would I do without you?" Clint flipped a switch on the side of the staff and the edges flipped open, revealing a high tech bow. Then he took the scabbard Natasha had brought with him that matched his bow. With a few adjustments of his hand on the bow, Clint could control the high tech quiver and which arrowhead he'd use on his next shot. "This is exciting… Just like old times, isn't it?" He patted the bow lovingly and then pushed open the doors to the next room. Natasha slid into the room when the two guards inside aimed their weapons and cried intruders.

Clint flipped a few switches on the grip of the bow and watched as the woman with short wavy red hair threw two disc-like objects in front of the guards. Both discs burst in a puff of smoke, disorienting the guards who lowered their guns out of instinct. Kicking the feet out from beneath the guard on the right, Natasha sprang back to a standing position, withdrew two more discs from the mechanical pieces on her wrists, pulled them apart to reveal a wire, then wrapped it around the neck of the guard closest, choking him until he dropped dead weight.

The guard behind her reached to grab her, too flustered to use the gun he held in his hand since he wanted to try and save his fellow guard but Natasha ducked low just in time as an arrow struck the guard in his side. It didn't puncture his skin, but rather used a claw-like grip at the end of it to grab through clothing and into flesh before delivering a nasty shock that rendered the guard instantly unconscious.

Clint walked to Natasha's side and pulled the arrow away from the guard before slipping it back into his quiver. The only problem with being an archer was that it was much harder to find extra ammunition. Offering Natasha a hand to get back to her feet, she took it gratefully even though she didn't need it.

"This is_ more_ fun than old times." She hunched over to search the pockets of the guards. Finding nothing of interest other than a few key cards they wouldn't require since Clint had already obtained the ones necessary she took the clips from their guns and passed half of them onto Hawkeye before slipping the extras into an ammo belt on her leg. "We don't often get to break the rules anymore when working for SHIELD."

"That _would_ be why you find it appealing. I meant working together was fun. We're not teamed up too often anymore." Clint scanned the room carefully in case anyone hid when they'd entered. With the guards on high alert it wasn't likely that they would get to walk around so easily for very long. The men in black skulking around had likely alerted the guards on the lower levels. He was surprised that no alarms had gone off either, since they sometimes went off _without_ being triggered on a boring day. His only guess was that the intruders had discovered a way to disable the alarm without cutting the power.

Very clever.

"Something's not right here…" Natasha held up her hand to keep Hawkeye from moving any further through the room and just in time at that. The lights flickered unnaturally throughout the room and the doors in front of them opened along with the doors on the upper level where a metallic catwalk hung overhead.

"I hate when you're right." Clint held his bow at the ready but had a feeling that they were about to be drastically outnumbered. From the catwalk above entered a familiar figure that Clint had spent several weeks shadowing after SHIELD had learned about his involvement with MedCo. Scott stood on the catwalk, hands neatly behind his back as he stared down at the two SHIELD agents who had immediately taken the defensive when they saw him enter the room. On his hip was a peculiar weapon neither hero recognized. They had the distinct feeling that they were about to become _very_ familiar with it.

It had taken several hours for his eyes to darken after Scarlett had broken his nose earlier in the day, but now that they had Scott seemed more menacing and less human than before. Clint wanted to warn Natasha of just who they were dealing with but she seemed to understand the severity of the situation without his help.

"We knew that an agent had _infiltrated_ our ranks a few weeks ago." Scott began cautiously. From the door on the opposite end of the catwalk several men dressed from head to toe in military grade body armor walked unsteadily and stood waiting. Three guards stood blocking the open doors below as well. They swayed in place, as though their equilibrium was off set. Natasha had a rotten feeling about what lay beneath the helmets of the newcomers. She'd read reports on experiments done by MedCo but never thought she'd meet face to face with the end results.

"You didn't let on, so I guess you've got a pretty good poker face." Clint responded when it had been made clear by Scott that he wasn't going to speak again until someone acknowledged him.

"It's not that we didn't let on, Mr. Barton, rather that we weren't _threatened_. We're far too well off to be concerned with SHIELD. Do you think we would've made our organization public if we were still worried about Nick Fury and his cavalcade of terrorism battling buffoons?" scoffing, Scott smirked down at the two. Standing silhouetted in the door nearest them was Erick, breathing heavily and looking worse for wear.

"If you knew about me why didn't you dispose of me from the get go?"

"If you weren't worried about backlash from SHIELD then why is he still alive?" Natasha echoed Clint's sentiment but kept her eyes on the hulking beast that was slowly making his way toward them. She knew how this was going to play out and she couldn't see any easy way out of it. The flickering lights finally stabilized. Erick seemed to be causing some sort of electronic interference that had temporarily damaged the lights and other electronic devices in the room. After some time near them, it seemed the effect was wearing off. Natasha knew their best option would be escape but that would mean leaving Scarlett behind and as far as she was concerned that wasn't an option. It was likely Clint felt the same way he'd always been awkwardly chivalrous.

"Because we're not stupid." Scott rolled his eyes and then walked toward the edge of the catwalk where a metallic staircase led to the main level. "But we've talked enough. We no longer require your services." Scott smiled politely at Clint then turned his attention to Erick and frowned. "_Take them._"

Erick grumbled in response, his mouth hanging open unnaturally wide with some terrible goop hanging out of it and dripping to the floor. For as zombie-like as he seemed, he moved unnaturally fast. The men who had gathered awkwardly on the catwalk were jumping over the railing and landing around Natasha and Clint, quickly surrounding them.

"This is going to be more fun than I expected." Natasha whispered to Clint though she wasn't quite sure that it was going to be very fun at all. They were grossly outnumbered and she still had a bad feeling about the armed men lumbering toward them. Something about their clumsy steps made her worry.

"Erick's the bigger threat from what I've read." Clint whispered back, arming his bow after pressing a few buttons on the hilt of his bow. "Take him out first."

"Before or after the gang takes us down? There's a flaw in your plan, Hawkeye." Natasha eyed the stairwell in hopes she could use it to her aid, but being behind Scott it was too hard to get to and likely not worth the risk.

"What happened to this being fun?" Clint laughed under his breath but was just as concerned as Natasha was. Their odds were low. In a confined space with nowhere to hide, they weren't able to play to their strengths. Plus Clint had heard stories about Erick and while he looked worse for wear, he knew that the creature was formidable and damn near impossible to kill. Scott was done playing games with them. He had no intentions of telling them more than they needed to know but it didn't look as though he intended to fight them either. No, it seemed as though he was more interested in watching them suffer.

"What do we do?" Natasha whispered as the troops assisting Erick closed ranks. Clint aimed his bow and artfully shot an arrow between the helmet and body armor of one of the heavily armed guards coming toward them. The guard stumbled and fell backwards, but the other guards didn't seem at all bothered or intimidated that one of their comrades had fallen.

"Hope we get lucky."

"You have absolutely _no _luck, you know that right?" Natasha withdrew both her handguns from their holsters and aimed them at the guards coming toward them. Quickly she shot at three of the surrounding guards, which there were at least a dozen of, neither one of them got an exact count, but none of them fell despite each shot hitting their target. "Hawkeye…"

"Aim for the head?" Clint fired another arrow but the arrowhead ricocheted off of the helmet when the guard lumbered off course. Scott laughed at the other end of the room but didn't make any moves or give any commands.

"Easier said than done." Natasha was beginning to think the only option left was to bail on the fight and come back from a different angle. But Clint had made it clear that Scarlett needed their help and the longer they waited the worse off she would be. The formidable monster lumbered around the room, waiting for orders to attack or move but making no effort to go after the duo of master assassins surrounded by zombie-like guards.

"They're not attacking us." Clint hesitated to waste another arrowhead if he missed. It would be much easier to take the guards down in close combat but the guards seemed as aware of that as they were and one by one each raised a stun gun toward them.

"That's because they don't want to kill us." Natasha braced herself for what would come next or to make a mad scramble onto Clint's back so she could jump up and catch the catwalk. But then it would leave Clint vulnerable and as skilled as he was he was nowhere near as nimble as she was and as she had mentioned earlier his luck was absolutely dreadful. It hadn't been an insult when she'd said it, merely a statement of fact.

"Crap." Clint muttered under his breath then whispered. "Remember that time in Chicago? When there was that nasty blackout?"

"You really think that's going to work here?" Before Clint could respond the lights began to flicker again.

"Erick, control yourself!" Scott hissed at the monster that stared back at him blankly, clearly just as confused as he was. Much like a strobe light the bulbs flashed overhead and then seconds later went out entirely. What happened next was in confusing flashes of light made by the spark at the end of a gun. Natasha didn't hesitate, whatever had happened to cause the lights to go out the guards and Scott hadn't anticipated it and it gave them the opportunity they needed to gain the upper hand.

Clint was a little more confused than Natasha was but sprang into action when someone else appeared on his side and urged him forward. A third person had joined the fray and was going from soldier to soldier making calculated stabs with a small dagger. He recognized the messy brown hair from earlier but didn't exclaim her name in case Scott and Erick hadn't yet realized who had joined them.

"What are you doing here?" He seemed astonished that Scarlett had managed her way out of the prison cell he'd earlier left her in but guessed that he had underestimated her as Natasha had told him he had on the phone.

"Does it really matter?" Scarlett grabbed one of the guards who was clumsily moving toward them and dug her knife deep into the back of his neck before slashing and kicking him to the side. Scott was cursing and yelling at the other end of the room.

"_Scarlett!_ Smart move! Cutting the lights…" Scott hissed in aggravation. They couldn't see what he was doing but he was obviously on the move by the sound of his voice.

"Don't worry about him," whispered Scarlett. Someone landed next to her low on the ground but she turned her attention to one of the guards blindly lunging for him. "Smaller fish so we can reach the bigger ones." Next to her Natasha was strangling one of the guards who had managed to get their hands on her.

Clint was firing arrows in the dark, having slipped on a pair of glasses that aided his sight in the shadows. The whistle of arrows flying by one by one signaled that the guards were being taken down. The arrowheads he'd chosen to use were strong enough to make their way through the heavy duty visors on the helmets obstructing their aim of the soldier's heads. Once he'd figured out a strategy the battle became much easier for him.

But suddenly Clint was lifted from the ground by something large that he guessed was Erick. With a comical squeal he was picked up and launched across the room. Sparks lit up the floor nearby as he tried to gather his bearings in the darkness. Scott had found flares and was tossing them around the room to aid his soldiers, revealing that the person who had come to assist them was indeed Scarlett as he had suspected. On her way to find Tony in the depths of the prison she had heard the commotion and couldn't rightly leave Natasha and Clint in the hands of those who hunted them at least not in good conscience.

There was that pesky moral compass she'd begun to hate so much.

When had the damn thing started to point north? Either way, she figured that they had, most likely, shown up to try and save her as Clint had promised to help her get out that evening but instead they'd been found out by Scott and his goons. Hopefully by the time she got to Tony he would still be alive and okay. She doubted that they'd kill him when he was as powerful and useful as he was, particularly since they so desperately wanted to get to _her_ because of all the trouble she'd caused. That was the problem with letting someone into your life. The moment your enemies discovered who they were they became a liability.

She was starting to realize that the trouble had actually been caused by Scott and not by her. But, if she had caused Scott to lose his mind then wasn't the trouble actually her fault anyway, if nothing else by proxy? She couldn't think about it at the moment, not when there was so much going on but that repetitive nagging voice in the back of her mind continued to remind her that she couldn't avoid it forever. But she couldn't rightly deal with it at the moment either.

Silhouetted in the darkness she could see Scott and he looked angry but wasn't attacking anyone, rather stepping carefully through the room and moving toward the stairs that led up the catwalk.

"You take care of these guys, I'm going after him. We can't let him go." Scarlett whispered to Natasha who nodded to confirm orders. Clint was getting to his feet and saw the monster at the far end of the room that had launched him to the ground. Aiming his bow, he chose an explosive arrowhead and shot the creature in the chest. The arrow exploded on impact but Erick didn't fall. Unearthly sounds of pain echoed throughout the large room and while dark colored blood oozed out of the gaping wound created in the creature's chest, Erick persisted.

"No you don't." Scarlett jumped over the railing of the staircase and though her side was aching and she felt sick to her stomach, it was much easier to ignore when she was this close to getting even with Scott. She didn't want to kill him, oh no, not after what he'd done to himself and the nasty things he'd said to her. She wasn't exactly okay with what had to be done but she knew there was no other choice to be made. He had to be turned over to SHIELD and live the rest of his life knowing the things that he'd done and the horrors he had caused.

He'd intentionally sent her into the arms of the devil on more than two occasions and now she'd do the same to him, but only so he wouldn't hurt anyone else. It wasn't for selfish means as it had been for him. After what he'd been responsible for in the villages across the world that she'd visited in the weeks past, Scarlett wanted him to _feel_ the guilt of his actions.

"What are you going to do, Scarlett? _Shoot_ me?" Scott moved closer to her, daring her to make a move but she aimed her gun at him, the one that Sergei had given to her, right at his chest.

"If I have to." Scott seemed surprised by Scarlett's determination. The weakness and frailty he'd earlier witnessed had dissipated entirely, leaving behind the look that he'd long hated.

She was going to finish the job, even against his better judgment just as he had always despised.

"You already hesitated too long." Scott's stunned expression twisted into a malevolent smirk. The crash behind Scarlett on the stairs nearly knocked her off of her feet. The railing broke and the screech of twisting and creaking metal deafened everyone in the room except for the guards who seemed not to notice the commotion in the last. If Scarlett had to guess then she thought they were the same sorts of beast that Erick was but without the additional strength and unnatural powers. They were simply harder to kill and were probably failed attempts at something bigger and more powerful.

Before she could turn around, Erick had grabbed her off of her feet and threw her across the room the way that he'd thrown Clint earlier. Hawkeye and Natasha had been keeping their eye out for her while they picked off the guards that remained. There were only a handful of them left that hadn't fallen to the ground useless.

"Scarlett!" Clint shot an arrow that sprung open with hooks on the end that dug into the ceiling and propelled him onto the catwalk. On his way up he caught her arm and pulled her up with him. Natasha fired her gun at the beast and though it staggered on its way up the stairs it was barely phased by it.

"All that will do is make him angrier!" Scott shouted with a nasty smile on his face while he backed up toward the door. In the sparks of the flares he looked especially wicked. Scarlett was balancing on the edge of the catwalk, trying to judge how much it would hurt to jump from there to the floor. Usually it would be no problem at all but given how weak she'd become over the past week with the beatings she'd taken and the illness she'd suffered, she wasn't sure it was worth breaking a bone to get around Erick to get to Scott.

"What_ is_ that thing?" Natasha yelled up to Clint who was retrieving the grappling hook from its place in the ceiling and putting it back into his electronic quiver.

"Used to be one of the MedCo heads. Erick. I shot him." Scarlett watched as Natasha reloaded her weapon with ease and then aimed it at Erick who was becoming frustrated enough with Natasha to go after her.

"I'm assuming he didn't look like this when you shot him." Clint widened his eyes. He was aware of the experiments that MedCo had been conducting but as a low level guard he hadn't been privy to seeing any of those experiments first hand even if he had heard rumors of Erick's existence.

"Nerdy guy, tall, skinny, glasses… Real prick, too. Threatened me and left me no choice. I shot him with his own gun." Scarlett walked along the edge of the catwalk on the wrong side of the railing and grabbed onto it tightly to keep from falling when the floor shook as Erick leapt toward Natasha who narrowly jumped out of the way. She triggered the tazers on her wrists and shot them at Erick but the monster mumbled in annoyance and continued after her. "Last time I saw him he could still talk at least, but I _did_ set him on fire and shoot every bit of ammunition I had into him."

"So you shot him _and_ set him on fire on two different occasions?" Clint was still in disbelief but had offered her a hand to keep her from losing her balance as the room shook.

"It's been a _really_ long few months." Scarlett sighed but then waved off his hand. "Are you good enough with that thing to keep shooting if say… someone was hanging off of its back and stabbing the hell out of it?"

"Yeah… I guess. Is that going to happen?" Clint widened his eyes but saw the beast going after Natasha. Instinctively he shot another explosive arrow at it and threw it off course, closer to the bottom of the catwalk.

Scarlett didn't answer and instead leapt off of the railing and onto Erick's back. Cringing she pouted as she felt how squishy and unnatural his charred and scarred skin felt against her fingertips.

"Gross… _so_ gross!" Scarlett kept one hand around Erick's maimed neck and flipped around the small blade she'd been using to kill the guards and began to cut at what remained of its face. If it couldn't see them then it couldn't kill them, right? It was simple logic.

"What if we tie it up?" Clint shouted to Scarlett.

"Stop yelling and act, okay? You don't need confirmation for every little thing!" Scarlett shouted in return. Natasha was down below, dealing with guards who had come running into the room to aid those who had fallen by their hand. She was very quickly being overwhelmed. As skilled as she was, there was only so much she could do in a tight space with a monster barreling around them. Clint fired several arrows at the guards that were surrounding Natasha so she could help Scarlett who was trying desperately to wrestle her way around to Erick's face so she could do some real damage, but was stabbing where she could when she had the chance.

"Scarlett, be careful!" Natasha shouted as the blood that oozed from one of Erick's many wounds touched the metal on the floor and corroded it upon its touch. "That stuff is toxic!"

"Great. This has been the _worst_ day." Scarlett muttered under her breath before taking another slice at Erick's flesh but strategically so the blood wouldn't drip on where her limbs were wrapped around him. Hawkeye readied his bow and shot arrows at him, ones with long lengths of wire that were then fastened to the railing of the catwalk.

"That should slow him down a little!"

"Where's Scott? Don't lose him!" Scarlett used one of the wires that Clint shot toward Erick to steady herself and then wrapped it around Erick's neck as he stumbled. Angry and frustrated, he growled and flailed wildly in an attempt to get her off of his back. Natasha slid between the monster's legs and was about to fire a shot at him to help slow him down and urge him closer to Clint so he could continue his capture of the creature but Scott grabbed the arm that held her gun. As the shot went off it ripped through the metal of the catwalk near Scarlett and narrowly missing Hawkeye as it ripped through the floor.

"Watch it!" Scarlett shouted but then squealed as Erick grabbed her by the ankle and swung her around wildly.

"Sorry!" Natasha knocked Scott's grip away and then jumped toward him. Much to her surprise he jumped out of the way and she landed on the floor, rolling backwards and jumping back to her feet so she wouldn't be targeted by him.

Erick tossed Scarlett to the ground and she curled up to minimize the area of her body that would take the blow on the ground. Her landing was softened by the bodies of the reanimated guards that had been eradicated. Even now she could see that their flesh was starting to fade and disintegrate. They must have been just barely held together by whatever science had brought them back to life or had altered them.

As she got to her feet, Erick stared at her and behind his dull and bloodied gaze she could see recognition.

"Uh-oh." Scarlett scrambled to her feet and made a mad dash across the room. If she could get closer to Scott then maybe it would minimize the damage Erick planned on doing to her. He still wanted revenge, even as a shell of a human being he wanted it so badly it was a palpable change in the room.

"What is he doing? Tasha, what's he _doing?_" Clint shouted aiming his bow but unsure of where to shoot or why. Erick growled loudly, throwing several of the guards out of his way. As Natasha aimed her gun at him he swung wildly and she flew across the room, knocking right into the destroyed railing of the stairwell. When she didn't get up, Clint cursed and tried to make his way to her. Scott was trying desperately to wrangle the creature that had gone mad with rage.

"_Stop!_ What are you doing?" Scott shouted, jumping out of the way as Erick flailed angrily. The beast was stopped in his tracks by the arrowheads that were trapped within his flesh the wires pulling at the metal of the catwalk that groaned in objection to his tug.

"Oh, this is so bad." Scarlett muttered, then waved her arms over her head. "Hey asshole! Killing you twice wasn't enough, huh? Third time's a charm." If she could keep him away from the far end of the catwalk then it would give Clint a chance to get down and to Natasha before someone took her away or the catwalk collapsed and with the way Erick was thrashing and flailing she guessed only precious few seconds remained.

And she was right about that.

Erick, even in his debilitated state, seemed to realize that while he was trapped by the wires he couldn't go far and get to his target. He grabbed onto the wires and pulled. At first the catwalk just shook and Clint lost his balance. Before he could race to the end of the catwalk, Erick pulled a second time on the wires and the catwalk squealed and ripped apart, the railings tearing off entirely and flying across the room.

Clint jumped as the floor beneath him collapsed and made a mad grab for the edge of what remained of the stairs. He barely made it but just when he thought he could pull himself back up he was grabbed around his waist and pulled back down to the ground where he fell on top of the guard who had been the source of his lost balance.

"That backfired a little I think!" Clint groaned as he elbowed the guard beneath him then swung his bow at him. The edges were sharpened so he could use them as blades to defend himself in close combat.

"Ya think?" Scarlett scoffed but then jumped across the room the best she could as Erick came barreling after her. He ran so fast that he lost his balance and couldn't stop when he'd reached the end and slammed carelessly into the wall. The remaining guards were swarming Natasha where she collapsed on the broken stairwell.

Clint fought off the guard behind him but the darkness increased as the flares became buried or went out. Scarlett ran blindly from Erick, trying to judge by his sounds where he was running and ducking low when he got too close so she could slip between his legs and avoid being clobbered by him. She couldn't think of what else to do. It was too dangerous to set him on fire here and shooting him did nothing but cause his corrosive blood to splatter across the room and cause further problems.

They could only run around in circles for so long and if she couldn't keep her eye on Scott she knew he would weasel his way out of the room to save his own sorry ass. When it came down to it, all Scott cared about was himself. That was how it had always been! Even when they were dating he cared more about how she treated him than he cared about how he treated her and therein lay the problem that worsened over the years and compounded over time.

"Tasha? Tasha, can you hear me?" Clint yelled when he finally made his way over to the guards who had picked up the Black Widow and were carrying her toward the door. With surprising ease he swung his bow and took out both guards before they could attempt retaliation. The guards were running low, there were only a handful left and it didn't look like any further backup was being called to that part of the building. With Erick rampaging around the room and practically tearing it apart, he was surprised that fire alarms hadn't sounded. The halls of the facility were as quiet as they had ever been and now Clint was more convinced than ever that someone had tampered with the wiring of the building before the dark figures had entered earlier.

Natasha stirred when Clint tapped her cheek and instantly jumped at him, knocking him to the ground and placing her forearm against his throat to choke him. Clint held his hands up defensively on either side of him to assure her she meant him no harm. She then smacked him on the cheek in return and jumped away from him.

"Let's finish this up." She nodded once she'd gathered her bearings.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine, you're wasting time Barton." Natasha shot him a look but then smiled to let him know she was just fine, despite the blood that dripped down the side of her face. There would be time to assess wounds later. It would do them no good to stop before they were out of danger. Natasha pulled a flashlight from her utility belt and attached it to one of her handguns once she'd retrieved them from the ruined staircase.

Scarlett was having a hell of a time staying away from Erick. The monster was hell bent on getting to her and exacting some terrible form of revenge which Scarlett assumed involved her dying horribly. When he'd once been bent on making her suffer he no longer seemed concerned with the effort involved. Obviously she was much too hard to capture so killing seemed like the only option left.

When he grabbed her ankle again to keep her from slipping away, she kicked at him with her other foot. He lost his grip but as she slid away, he slammed his body into her, squishing her against the wall. Squealing in surprise, Scarlett slumped to the floor with the wind knocked out of her when he pulled away. Before she could get back to her feet, Erick was hovering over her, a wicked half toothed grin on his face, bloodied drool dripping from each fang.

Scarlett stared at the creature hovering just above her and waited for him to make his move secretly hoping that Natasha or Clint would make _their_ next move.

"No!" A shot rang out and ripped into Erick's skull but didn't pass through the other side. Something burst and Scarlett watched in awe as shocks of electricity ran through his face. Then the life faded from the monster's eyes and he collapsed. Scarlett narrowly slid out of the way of his oversized heavy corpse before it fell. "It's not her time yet." Scott's lip twitched in anger, holding the strange shaped gun that Clint had earlier noticed him wielding.

Scarlett stared at Scott who was still looking at her, holding that formidable gun but not aiming it at her. He had just saved her life but what for? Was there some part of him that was still the sweet man who had trouble asking her out on a first date and had shown up with flowers after she'd initially told him she wasn't interested? Or was that just wishful thinking and he was hoping to keep her alive so she would suffer as one of the experiments he wanted her to become?

Clint seized opportunity while Natasha took out the remaining guards and went after Scott. Hooking his bow over his shoulder he grabbed his handgun and aimed. But Scott was faster than he'd expected and dodged the shot. With his bare hands he mangled the door on the bottom floor so that he couldn't be followed easily and ran down the hallway.

"Damnit." Clint lowered the gun and placed it back in his holster. It wasn't often that he missed his target with any kind of weapon and it flustered him.

Natasha walked over to where Scarlett stood and waved her hand in front of her friend's face when she noticed her staring off into the distance. Scarlett knocked her hand out of the way and walked over to Erick's limp corpse. With her foot she kicked him to make sure he wasn't coming back to life. Then she took her gun and aimed it at his head and shot the remainder of her clip into him. Clint and Natasha exchanged wary glances then looked back to Scarlett.

"Just in case." Scarlett shrugged then retrieved a clip of ammunition from one of the fallen guards to replace the one she'd spent, grabbing a few extra for the remainder of their escape. "I thought he was dead on two prior other occasions, I wasn't going to risk it a third." Sighing she looked around the room and knew that she had to go after Tony. In all the chaos she'd nearly forgotten that was why she was still inside the facility at all.

"Do you feel better now?" Clint couldn't help but be a little amused, if not a little troubled by what had just occurred. MedCo was far further along in their devious human experiments than he had anticipated. SHIELD would have to step up their game and quickly at the rate they were going.

"A little." Scarlett shrugged and then winced. Every part of her was uncomfortable and in pain. Coughing, she leaned forward and spat out the ick that came from her throat. After this she would need to see at least ten different kinds of doctors.

"You see, Hawkeye? I told you that Scarlett could handle herself. We probably didn't need to come in here. We probably made it worse." Natasha scolded her partner and swatted him away when he tried to take a look at the cut on her head.

"I was just being cautious. Like you said, she was sick and beaten up but… looks like none of that really mattered." Clint smiled knowingly.

"Look, as much as I would really like to have a Full House moment here, we don't really have the time." Scarlett wiped her mouth to make sure that none of the drool or blood had gotten on her. It was obvious by the fact that it wasn't burning her flesh that there wasn't any but she couldn't help but feel like she was covered in something gross after what she had witnessed. It was better to obsess over that than it was to obsess over her mental health that seemed in a steady decline over the weeks past.

"I don't get to be Uncle Jesse?" Clint pouted, proud of himself for getting the reference but then smiled sheepishly when Natasha rolled her eyes at him.

"You two have to secure the building. Sergei and his men are running through here but if they're going to be up against those forces then they're doomed. Call for backup from SHIELD or something… do whatever you need to, but make sure you have this place in lockdown and gain control from those MedCo bastards. Two heads of the company are left. Marcia and Mikhail. Marcia's a bitch but the real threat is Mikhail. He's a regular sociopath." Scarlett furrowed her brow, counting out the heads of MedCo on her fingers. She still looked to Erick's corpse suspiciously as though it were going to get back up at any second and start after her. Scarlett was so finished with so many people wanting a piece of her.

"You're not coming with us." It wasn't a question but rather a certainty that Natasha needed an explanation for.

"Tony's trapped somewhere in here because of me." Scarlett averted her eyes and looked toward the mangled door. "My guess is Scott has gone straight for him because he knows that's where I plan on going."

"And hopes to trap you," grimaced Clint. "Which he'll do if you go."

"Well, I'll just have to be careful, won't I?" She nodded resolutely in response but then looked to Natasha knowingly. Clint was nice enough but didn't know her like the Black Widow did. "I have to go after him. He got locked up in here to try and save me, I just know it. He has this weird… white knight in shining armor thing going on. It's cute and all but stupid."

"Okay." Natasha nodded much to Clint's surprise but he didn't vocally object. "You find your boy and we'll handle the rest. Just don't do something stupid."

"Like get myself killed, you mean? Yeah, I'll do my best." Scarlett laughed but there was little humor in her voice. Looking down at Erick's corpse one last time she hesitated before walking away from it and starting toward the half destroyed door that she would have to knock off of its hinges to get through.

"Would you feel better if we set him on fire?" Clint called to her as she finally got the door free.

"I would, actually." Scarlett nodded and Clint smiled then pulled a lighter from his pocket. At least someone seemed to get her sense of humor. Scarlett pulled the door away and started in a rush down the hall where she hoped she would find Scott and Tony. She knew that she could trust Clint and Natasha to handle what remained of the MedCo guards.


	34. Explosive

It was no more than five minutes that Scarlett had set off on her way, solitary, through the dark and unfamiliar hallways of the Russian MedCo facility that she regretted leaving Natasha and Clint behind. Having spent so much time under cover amongst the guards, Clint would have a far better idea of where Tony was being held than Scarlett could've ever guessed. But given the circumstances, it was best that the trio parted ways. Someone had to take control of the building and it couldn't be her.

Heart heavy in her chest, Scarlett felt her two worlds finally uniting instead of remaining at odds with each other. There was the cold, calloused assassin, calculated and eternally prepared for the next job but also the woman who _very_ much wanted to absolve her sins and save the man she'd foolishly fallen in love with. Even if it was hard to judge that what she felt was _truly_ love given how little time the two had to celebrate their emotions, she didn't doubt those feelings were honest. Scarlett knew the little bit of humanity she'd regained was worth fighting for, even if it left her vulnerable. Some things were _worth_ the strife and now that she'd at last come to terms with that she was ready to put an end to this MedCo business once and for all. Though she'd thought that on numerous occasions previously, she had always had the smallest sliver of doubt in her mind. That doubt had been eradicated.

She'd put an end to her involvement with MedCo if not for her then she'd do it for Tony. Her life was more than her own now, he'd made that clear to her by how hard he'd fought to follow her around and how determined he'd been to help her even when she'd pushed him away. One way or another, MedCo _had_ to be out of the picture so they could both rest easy. She was sure that no matter what, their lives would be dangerous, but MedCo was making it impossible for her to live. Now Tony had gotten in over his head and they'd make it just as impossible for him. Something had to be done.

"Scarlett!" She turned on her heels and held her gun aimed toward the sound but saw Natasha and Clint running toward her, though neither looked concerned. Still Scarlett scanned the hallway behind them in search of any horrible looking zombie monsters in their wake just in case that was why they were running after her.

"Wait up!" Clint waved his bow over his head to grab her attention, not that he needed to since she was already focused on them.

"No, I'm waiting for the other two SHIELD operatives holed up in here. What does it look like I'm doing?" Scarlett rolled her eyes and holstered her gun. Seconds later when Natasha and Clint had at last made their way to Scarlett she stared at them expectantly. "Did I drop something? What's the hold up?"

"We figured that it would be best if we came with you for as long as possible." Natasha clearly had trouble leaving her to her own devices. Despite having expressed confidence in her abilities only minutes prior, there was worry behind her eyes. It was weird to see Natasha with such emotion, since the Black Widow she'd known years prior had been as cold and as calculated as she was. Though, Scarlett guessed it was just as weird for Natasha to see Scarlett as torn apart as she was.

Life got weirder every day it seemed.

"Would've been handy if you said that before I started off…" Scarlett was glad that they'd decided to join her for a portion of the journey, but it was in her nature to continue joking given the seriousness of the situation. Humor eased the tension; at least it did for her.

"Well, we didn't think of how much easier that'd be until after you left." Clint nodded, pulling an arrow from his quiver and aiming his bow toward the floor as the trio walked through the hall speaking in hushed voices.

"What he _means_ to say is that _I_ didn't think of it until after you left, Clint was deciding the best approach to get to the control room on the top floor. They keep all the electronic surveillance equipment up there, even though the backup generators are in an external shed." Natasha was taking mental inventory of the ammunition she had left. She didn't want to be caught without in such a hostile environment.

"Almost everything, including the generators can be controlled from that top floor. It's a crow's nest of sorts and with the highest security MedCo has available. It'll be no mean feat getting through those doors and getting access to those controls. But if we do, we can call backup directly to us and take the building down in less than five minutes as long as all goes according to plan once we're in there." Clint explained as they walking along, taking the lead since he was the only one familiar with the building.

"You can also shut down the building from there and prevent any other MedCo assholes from escaping. I take it security central is up there too? Video footage… so if I can't find Tony on my own then you can lead me to him once you're there." Scarlett kept her hand on her gun ready to pull it out at a moment's notice. It was a shame that so many guards had gotten in their way, but she was guessing that MedCo viewed them as disposable.

"Yes, but my guess is that he's on the floor above where you were being kept so one down from here. If Scott went after him then that's your bigger problem. If he's as hard to kill as Erick was… I suppose you could try to get that weird gun off of him." Clint grimaced then held his hand up to signal their group to stop. The women obeyed and Natasha silently reloaded the cartridge on her arm. Scarlett missed her Tesla device more than ever and looked to Natasha's wristbands jealously. Once she got the chance she'd rebuild it and do a more efficient job. The advancements she had developed for it even over the last week were momentous and would revolutionize the way she did her job or whatever job she planned on doing after all was said and done. Clint looked back over his shoulder and then nodded his head to signal that he'd heard guards, holding up three fingers.

Scarlett crouched down so that Natasha could climb on her back and spread across the ceiling of the corridor and try to take a few of them by surprise. Surely Scott had alerted the remaining troops of their existence and resistance would be met at every angle. When it came down to it, Scarlett's ex-boyfriend was still a frightful coward and manipulated others to do his dirty work for him. The experiments and enhancements done to his body couldn't change the man he was deep down underneath that. A cowardly, weak, and frail man was what remained. After having uncovered the truth Scarlett realized that she'd held Scott on an unrealistic pedestal in the past. He was nowhere _near_ half the man she had thought he was. Sweet, supportive Scott was nothing more than a _douchebag_.

Both Scarlett and Hawkeye crouched in nearby doorways, listening for the footfalls that Clint had heard only moments prior. She meant to ask him how he'd done that but never got the chance to, at least not on that particular occasion. But when the soldiers never came as they suspected they would, Natasha leapt down from the ceiling and shook out a cramp in her leg.

"What happened?" Scarlett whispered, still holding her gun and ready for a fight but no longer huddled in the doorway of an empty room. Clint looked confused and listened, holding a finger up to silence his curious teammates.

"They turned away. I don't get it. They know we're sitting ducks down here." Shaking his head, Clint sounded exasperated. Why weren't there guards mowing them down? Scarlett turned to look in the room she'd used for temporary cover but found nothing out of the ordinary. It was what she had expected to find; a room filled with desks and tables where experiments had been done. Papers were on the floor but if Sergei's men were digging around then it was likely that they had shuffled through some of the rooms and left them in disarray.

"They should be surrounding us and trying to thwart our attempts to get to Tony or to get Scarlett out." Natasha seemed just as befuddled as Clint but just as suspicious as Scarlett.

"Unless they're sure that we won't get there. But that's an awful lot of confidence from MedCo. There has to be a different reason." Scarlett looked past Hawkeye and into the room behind him when something caught her eye.

"It doesn't make sense. Security protocol is clear for situations like this. Lock down is the first thing to happen but… surely Scott and Mikhail aren't stupid enough to _not_ notice that there are people crawling around. Something's wrong."

"Move." Scarlett shoved at Clint's shoulder playfully and he pouted but didn't move out of the way. Natasha grabbed his arm and tugged him away so that Scarlett could get past him.

"What is it?" Following after her friend, Natasha peered curiously around Hawkeye.

"This room is trashed." Scarlett peered around the tossed over filing cabinets and flipped over tables. Paper was scattered about the room. If she hadn't known better she would've guessed that Erick had thrown a tantrum in the office before coming after her.

"So?" Hawkeye peered around the doorway. "You said your friend had people sneaking around, maybe they made a mess in the process."

"No, no…they're trying to be discreet. Someone was doing something in here and they did it in a hurry. The other rooms are torn apart, but this looks like… well, it's a disaster."

"She's right."

"Of _course_ she is. That's why you guys do all the sneaking. I just shoot stuff and look pretty." Clint rolled his eyes. Though he didn't brag about it, he had nearly as many skills as the Black Widow did but his execution had always been a bit off outside of his bow and arrow. Though, he _was_ known to be handy with a sword as well. Clint had more than one super hero alter ego, Hawkeye just happened to be the costume he wore that particular day. A bow was where he felt most comfortable, even though he was more than capable with guns and blades.

"Someone was looking for something in a panic, but what? And why are all these rooms… empty?" Scarlett propped one of the overturned desks back up, leaning against it once it was upright so that she could rest her worn body. The bullet wound that had grazed her when she'd fought Scott was aching and pulling with ever movement she made. Usually Scarlett was good at ignoring pain, but being sick had lowered her threshold for it. Somehow it was much harder to convince her body that the pain shooting up her arm and down the back of her neck were simply signals sent from her nerve endings into her brain and translated as pain.

Though to be perfectly honest, Scarlett had dealt with the crippling ache in her chest caused by her illness for so long that now she didn't notice it at all. It would probably feel strange when she could breathe properly again, considering how long she'd been dealing with the chest congestion. Days blurred into weeks and she couldn't even recall what time of year it was anymore or how long she'd been sick. Though she knew it was summer, specifically, she didn't know what time in the summer it was. Her birthday was in the summer, she wondered if it had passed yet.

Natasha was peering through the files for anything of note, but it seemed that huge chunks of the data had been extracted and removed. The whole situation was suspicious, but at this point no one was surprised by MedCo's devious attempts to cover their tracks. After Scarlett had blown the last building to smithereens with the help of (even if it was unknowingly) Tony Stark, they had likely taken precautionary measures in the event that such a thing recurred.

"Guys, this place is being evacuated." Clint shouted from somewhere down the hall.

"Good job being discreet, Barton!" Scarlett shouted back, but didn't bother moving toward the hallway to get closer to him. Clint reappeared in the doorway moments later with a sly look on his face, though behind that they could see worry in his blue eyes.

"What's the point of staying quiet? I mean they already know we're in here and no one seems to be around."

"You never alert your position. You got us in big trouble like that once, remember?" Natasha rolled her eyes but searched down the hallway. "The whole place is being evacuated?"

"Do you think that your friend Sergei could be abducting people?" Clint nodded toward the corridor. At least that would explain the strange disappearances of the employees and guards that had once roamed the halls. Natasha couldn't explain it but the sinking feeling in her stomach was telling her that something much different was going on.

"No, there are files missing, too. I mean, he's in here looking for information but… these are not the kinds of files he would've taken. Personnel reports… financial information. He was looking for lab reports and hopeful of finding an antidote to some of the drugs that have been administered in the waters across the eastern countries here. Why would they take this stuff?" Scarlett looked back to the other two who shrugged.

"That sounds more like something MedCo would want to dispose of," mused Clint out loud while he searched the room across the hall. Scarlett was just about to abandon the room she was in so she could continue her search for Tony when something caught her eye.

"What is it, Scarlett?" Natasha grabbed Clint by the arm to bring his attention back to where her friend was now pushing over a filing cabinet.

"Careful…" Clint winced. He'd seen the condition she'd arrived in and knew that every movement had to hurt. But Clint was a baby when it came to wounds even if he tried to act like a tough guy about it.

"They were prepared for this." Scarlett found what she was looking for in the far corner of the room. One of the tiles had been pulled up and tossed aside carelessly to reveal a small electronic object that Scarlett knew _all_ too well. Her heart was suddenly thundering in her ears. This changed everything. How was she going to find Tony and get him out of there in time? That was if Scott hadn't already dragged him away beyond her reach, of course.

Turning, she swung at the air to avoid hitting the wall. Clint and Natasha looked confused and walked over to where she'd been standing. Each saw the electronic device and recognized it for what it was. Cursing, Clint ran his hand through his short hair and exhaled a shaky breath. Scarlett disappeared into the hallway, and neither one of them paid attention to which direction she'd headed in.

"We can't let this happen. We have to try and buy her some time." Natasha whispered under her breath, sure that Scarlett had gone either to think over what she needed to do next or to find something to punch.

"We're already on borrowed time, Tasha." Clint warned under his breath.

"I know." Natasha sighed but was formulating a plan in her mind. Moments later, Scarlett returned with her arms full. She handed Natasha a bulletproof vest and slipped on the other she'd carried in with her. Back in the room that had been destroyed by Erick and the fight that had ensued she'd taken what remained of the armor that hadn't been destroyed during their battle. Any extra protection would help with what they needed to do. She was sure that any of the guards who had stayed behind would be crowded around the two places they would have to go. The control room that Clint had mentioned was likely guarded by those who were willing to die for MedCo's cause and Scott had likely brought a team of thugs to protect him since it seemed in his nature to have others do his grunt work.

"Suit up, we've got some work to do. This place is wired to blow." Scarlett nodded toward the device at the far end of the room.

"Why would they do that? A self destruct mechanism? Is it just for these rooms down here filled with sensitive information?" Clint was still confused.

"Hell if I know." Scarlett shrugged her shoulders and handed them both walkie-talkies after adjusting the frequency so they were set to the same ones. "After what happened in South Africa… I blew the place to high hell and Tony showed up and only made it worse I don't know what they're thinking." Scarlett hooked the walkie-talkie on her belt and then looked back to Clint and Natasha who did the same, Clint discarding the one he'd already had from his undercover work with MedCo. There hadn't been transmissions on it for hours, he guessed that those who needed to be in the know were communicating in other ways. "My assumption is that after that they're going to plan to go out on their own terms."

"Or that it went so well for them because they were untraceable after those explosions went off that they borrowed the idea. SHIELD scoured that place and found nothing… not even a sign of you, Scarlett." Natasha looked at her thoughtfully.

"Well, someone went back and screwed around there to taunt me, so maybe SHIELD should take a second look when they get the chance." Scarlett muttered, recalling the haunting message scrawled on the wall when she'd returned to the scene of her original captivity by MedCo. "I don't know how extensive these things are or even if there _are_ other explosives, but I can guarantee you that thing is a detonator and I can tell you it's a big middle finger to me."

"Why is that?" Clint grimaced, taking the extra ammo Scarlett had offered as well as the gloves that she'd stolen from the corpses in the other room. It was morbid, but if they were going to be facing the worst guards MedCo had to offer they needed to be prepared.

"I designed it." Scarlett adjusted the Kevlar vest around her. The bruises on her sides from being kicked around by Scott were objecting to being constricted and loudly at that. "It's the same detonator I used on the artificial limbs I filled with explosives before I broke out of that place. All I can tell you is that this is very, _very_ bad. They knew I'd get here eventually which means that they planned to destroy this place from the get go, probably with me inside of it."

"It's time to split up." Natasha started into the hallway. "You go downstairs and try to find Tony." Natasha pointed toward the far end of the hall. "Clint and I will head upstairs and distract the guards for as long as we can. Eventually we'll make our way to the control room and see if we can find out more about the detonator in that room. With any luck, maybe it's the only one."

"My guess is the whole place is rigged to blow," grimaced Clint, obviously not willing to look on the bright side of things. "Not that it means we're going to try any less to stick to the plan." He spoke defensively before either woman could argue with him. He had the distinct feeling that Scarlett was going to continue with her plan no matter what they chose to do and he wanted to genuinely help her _but_ within the realm of reason.

He knew that Natasha wasn't going to let Scarlett walk into the lion's den cover in blood either. Both had been through hell on their own terms, they at least wanted to provide Scarlett with as much assistance as they could while they still had the means and opportunity.

"I agree with Clint on this one. This whole place is probably going to blow to high heaven but they won't do that with Mikhail and Scott still inside. Both of them are far too valuable. They need time to remove what's precious to them so that buys us some time thought not much." Scarlett pulled off her bulletproof vest, ditched her leather jacket and then put the vest back on. With just her tank top, the pressure on her side was lessened and the discomfort much more manageable.

"We'll do our best to make that as long as we possibly can. When things get too dangerous I'll send you a message." Natasha nodded resolutely. Scarlett smiled just slightly then checked her gun for about the fortieth time to make sure that it was loaded.

"We've already wasted too much time. Good luck. If you have to leave, I understand but I'm _not_ leaving without Tony. He'd do the same for me." Scarlett gestured toward the hallway.

"We'll make sure that you _both_ get out of here alive." Clint looked more determined than before. Scarlett gave them one more nod before disappearing down the hallway. Natasha adjusted her bulletproof vest that fit awkwardly due to her shorter stature then looked back to Clint.

"Lead the way, Hawkeye," spoke Natasha, hungry for action but also nervous that they'd all be blown to high heaven before the night was over. Visits to Russia never seemed to end well, at least not for Natasha. She had a love-hate relationship with the place. Something always seemed to explode and nearly kill her at the end of her visits, even if they were on vacation. Clint started back through the room where Erick still lay, a smoldering corpse that he had set on fire as he had promised Scarlett he would. Looking up toward the door on the wall that had once been accessible, Clint winced. "Let me guess, we have to get up there?" Natasha's sardonic tone said it all.

"Yeah, of course we do." Clint shrugged his shoulders and then offered his hand so that she could get a boost and pry the door open. "Ladies first."

"You're such a bullshit gentleman." Natasha used the hand he offered to jump up, grab the door handle, tug on it enough to get it to turn, then pulled open the door. She then climbed over the door with the help of the same handle and clambered inside. When she didn't offer a hand to help Clint up, he withdrew the same grappling arrow he'd used in the fight with Erick and pulled himself up to join her. The next level of the building, which was the main floor was more hectic than the lower one.

People were running left and right escorted by men in black out of the way, some of them in handcuffs and others free to move on their own accord. Natasha and Clint avoided the masses running through the building and headed toward the stairwell at the end of the hall that would lead them to the top floor where they could then locate the spiral staircase they would have to climb up several flights to get to the very top of the control tower. There was nothing else up that high other than the control tower and Clint guessed that the stairwell was going to be a death trap.

"This way." Natasha crept low in the hallway, despite her already short stature. For now the MedCo guards were paying them no mind but were instead trying desperately to execute the evacuation order and avoid the intruders who were quickly overwhelming their efforts. There was a woman at the far end of the hallway shouting orders and Natasha thought she recognized her but didn't have time to confirm that she was Marcia Edmonton, the third leader of MedCo and as far as she was personally concerned the _most_ worrisome.

It seemed that the woman was never actually associated with anything MedCo did which meant she was careful, _very_ careful. Mikhail was different; he didn't _care_ if he got caught because he had some kind of a God complex from what she could tell after reading his file. But Marcia _knew_ that she wasn't beyond reproach. She knew that every empire eventually fell and when MedCo's did she didn't want to fall with it. People who had something to lose were often more calculated than those who didn't care.

"Tasha, duck!" Clint shouted when they at last started up the stairwell. Someone was yelling at them from behind. A handful of guards had finally caught on that they hadn't belonged amongst the rushing crowds. Natasha did as she was asked and ducked low on the stairs so that Clint would be able to shoot the guard racing toward her, which he did artfully. Before anyone could follow after, Natasha kicked what remained of the guard out the door and pulled some wire from her belt then tied the handle of the door to the lock box on the wall. It wouldn't last forever if pressed but it would buy them some time to get up the stairs undeterred.

The bowstring of Hawkeye's impressive bow made a very distinct sound as he shot upwards on the staircase toward a new group of guards coming down. The guard lost his balance and fell over the railing, crashing near Natasha on the stairs. She jumped over the railing and ran in front of Clint.

"One more floor, right?" She shouted back, twisting the mechanisms on her wrists until they triggered and built up current she could use to knock out the guards that weren't horrible undead monsters. She knew as well as the rest of them did that some of the men were working stiffs like Clint who just needed the money that MedCo offered while some were in it for the glory and wicked things they got to do. There was no mark on their faces that would tell Natasha the difference, so she acted with caution.

If she could knock men out instead of going after them at full force she'd feel a bit better after all was said and done. She had enough blood on her hands already for one day.

"Yeah, you can't go any higher than that on this staircase. Highest floor, the security access will be hard to bypass…"

"Don't worry, I can get past that no problem. Worry about that when we get there, Hawkeye!" Natasha shocked one guard and threw him over the side of the railing where he fell on top of the man who already lay dead from the arrow that Clint had fired into him. She watched to make sure he didn't get up but then grabbed onto the railing as another guard reached for her in an attempt to disarm her.

She swung underneath the railing, grabbed onto the lowest part of the stair rail and then pulled herself back up behind him. Clint swung his bow and captured the guard's head between the string and the bow itself before twisting it around, making the guard loose his footing on the steps. After he fell, Natasha jumped the few steps downward to close the gap and shocked the man with the tasers on her wrists. He twitched momentarily then fell unconscious. Natasha lifted her hands, let the cartridges in her gauntlets fall away then reloaded them for the next shock.

The two agents then ran up the stairs, not bothering to muffle their footfalls as they went. Stealth was usually their utmost priority but neither one of them thought they had the time to be _that_ careful. There were no remaining guards on the stairwell but they were both sure that the next level would be loaded with them and were likely all centralized around the one place that they needed to be.

"Too bad we can't knock out the lights again. How did Scarlett do that anyway?" Clint whispered when they reached the door at the top. He shoved at the lock and the door handle but it didn't budge.

"She's better at this electronic stuff than we are. Move it." Natasha pushed him out of the way then pulled from her belt another round disc which she pressed a button on and then stuck it to the wall next to the lock mechanism. Grabbing Clint's arm she stepped down a few feet and covered her ears. Clint looked at her cautiously, then back to the blinking disc on the wall before covering his ears. It was none too soon that he'd done so because the disc blew up and left a hole in the wall next to the lock.

"I see you've gotten some new toys." Clint uncovered his ears and dusted himself free of the brick dust that had come from the explosion. "Good job warning me."

"You figured it out. Give yourself more credit." Natasha shrugged and then headed up the stairs and stuck her hand in the hole in the wall before pulling the bunch of wires that triggered the lock. It beeped, turned green leaving her free to pull the handle. She smiled triumphantly.

"Show off." Clint narrowed his eyes and then ducked as a shot rang through the open door toward them. In the hall, positioned behind various over turned desks and tables were several of the guards that they had fought earlier and had accompanied Erick. Only now it seemed that they had orders to shoot on sight. Thankfully their aim wasn't very good, considering their state of being experiments and probably undead. Some could barely hold their weapons properly. But still the shots rang out and even one poor shot could hit them in the wrong place and end things.

"We have to be cautious." Natasha hid on the staircase while the shots rang out. She counted them off in her head and tried to judge when she had time to run forward. "Can you pick off a few from here? If I can get behind them and to the stairwell then we might have the advantage."

Hawkeye cocked his gun, deciding it was far easier to use than his bow would be in the crouched position. He was a master of his craft but even he couldn't hold a bow at such an odd angle on a staircase.

"I'll buy you some time, but Tasha… be careful. I can't dream of killing them from this far back and they don't fall easy, not with that much armor on." Clint frowned. It was weird getting used to such resilient soldiers, particularly the kind that were only half alive. He wondered how long they had planned to take these soldiers, if they had removed them from their posts, faking a promotion before putting them under the knife and setting them up for a fall. Were they volunteers for some super secret soldier program, having no idea what they were in for? MedCo promised medical advancements that they couldn't deliver on.

Every recreation of the Super Soldier serum had been nothing but a horrific failure thus far and many had given their lives to experience a taste of it. Had these men and women been included in their ranks? Clint had thought about that on many occasions and had done his best to lay low and fly straight in order to keep his life and to not end up being offered the "next level" of soldier. He was perfectly okay with being a flawed human being, thank you very much.

Had MedCo _really_ been onto him for as long as Scott had claimed? Was that why he had managed to avoid running into any snags? They had let him infiltrate their ranks and figured they'd let him die when the chance came, but didn't want to cause any further frustrations for themselves.

That in mind, Clint aimed his gun and fired at the reanimated soldiers waiting for them. The first bullet ricocheted off of the helmet of the closest soldier. He fired sloppy retaliation shots but they went over their heads and into the back wall of the stairwell. Clint fired a second round, the gun steady in his hand and one eye focused on the target in front of him. His bullet hit the same target and shattered the helmet, hitting the assailant dead in the face with such force that he flew backwards.

"Nice shot," whispered Natasha over her shoulder as she pulled out her own gun. Glancing upward she saw the lights teetering in the hallway blown by some unnatural wind. "We could still have the shadows on our side."

"Smart thinking." Clint gritted his teeth and chose his next shot carefully. He grazed the shoulder of the next guard who fell back, his head lolling unnaturally but offering up a much larger target than once available. Firing the second kill shot quickly, Clint knocked off the second guard and then got up from where he'd been crouching. Natasha shot the light above him before following after him into the narrow hallway. Without the first light it was nearly completely pitch black in the passage. There were only small windows like the portholes of a ship nearby and they were covered with a dark film.

Very little light illuminated the hall naturally and that was by design. It was built like the deck of a ship. Maybe the creatures were sensitive to the natural light, like vampires or something. It was only a theory but there was no time to put it to the test. The glass in the porthole windows was likely bulletproof and not worth the energy or ammunition it would take to break through it.

Shots rang left and right once the lights had gone out. The reanimated soldiers were groaning and talking to each other in hushed voices and simple words but even then, Natasha and Clint couldn't make out what they were saying. They instead tried to pick off more of the guards and get closer to the spiral staircase in the middle of the hallway. Several guards were backing up through the hall. Natasha broke the light nearby and then another light ahead of them. In the confusion, she was able to rush forward in the darkness and remove several helmets from several guards, leaving them exposed for Hawkeye to aim and shoot at with the device that aided him to see in the dark. Arrow after arrow whistled in the shadows.

Once out of the stairwell he was able to go back to using his bow, since he had better aim with it and it was much quieter so it wouldn't reveal his position. But as they got closer to the stairwell, he was running low on arrows and would have to eventually go back to his gun. That was about the only thing that made his gun more beneficial, was that the amount of ammunition he was able to carry around was far more substantial than what he could carry for his bow in his quiver.

Using this method the duo were able to make their way through the darkness and to the spiral staircase that had been half damaged by one of the guards during the fray. Clint boosted Natasha so she could begin climbing but they heard something peculiar that made them stop short before he climbed after her.

"…Clint." Natasha began cautiously looking into the darkness and seeing what she feared she'd heard. The sound of a string of large ammunition being fed into a very large gun signaled they had no time left to lose.

"I wasn't sure they could fire those things the way that they are. It requires a lot of control."

"We'll be swiss cheese if they get it going," Natasha hissed.

"Just go, I'll take care of this." Clint nodded after hesitating, considering what he had to do. It wouldn't be easy, but if he climbed after Natasha they'd be shredded. This way he could provide a distraction and hopefully kill the remainder of the guards in the hall and disable the turret before it did too much damage. "And be quiet about it okay?"

"Like I'm ever _not_ quiet." Natasha retaliated but was already halfway up the staircase.

"Just do what I asked, okay?" Clint laughed and then reloaded one of the last few arrows he had. It was another explosive arrow and hopefully if he created enough chaos or did enough damage to the turret he would delay it being loaded. But before his quiver finished loading the arrowhead one of the guards yelled in an unnatural groan. Clint knew what that meant, even if it hadn't made sense when he'd heard it.

Dropping to the ground behind the nearby overturned desk that had been used by the guards to take cover when they'd first approached, Clint covered his head and ducked as low as he could to avoid being shot. Bullets tore through the desk above him, through the walls left and right of him but thankfully the darkness provided him more cover than he had thought. The screaming whir of the turret hurt his ears but he made no noise to reveal his position. He'd have to wait for the gun to either jam or need to cool down before he could take his shot and that moment would be crucial.

The gunfire was drawn away and upward, so Clint cursed and hoped that Natasha wasn't the new target. Maybe the guards thought that he'd climbed up with her since they hadn't seen him make another move. Grabbing his gun he swung it around from the side of the desk and fired in the general direction of the guards without any actual attempt aim. The fire had the desired effect and he swore he heard the groan of one of the creatures as though he had been hit by the bullet. That would be dumb luck.

Clint could only hope that was the case. Soon the bullets were tearing through the desk that he'd crawled behind and they were doing it so intensely that soon enough the desk fell apart. Instinct kicked in. Clint rolled onto his stomach and crawled across the hall behind an overturned table but he knew it would only be seconds before that was torn to shreds too.

Natasha, meanwhile, on the creaky spiral staircase climbed up as quickly as she could. Gunfire had almost reached her but she realized that Clint must have kept his word and provided distraction as it got drawn away. At the top of the narrow passageway with nothing but the staircase inside of it was a thick metallic door and it was, surprise-surprise, locked. After a second spent fiddling with it, Natasha knew she wouldn't be breaking that lock and would have to blow through it as she had done with the one on the stairs. But doing so in the confined space would be dangerous and there was no way she could go back to the floor below and risk being shot. So Natasha did the only thing she could do. She set the charge and jumped between the railings of the staircase to the halfway mark and hoped that it would be enough distance between her and the explosion that she wouldn't take any substantial damage.

The blast went off and shook the entire hallway beneath. Being in such an odd space, the blast force was magnified and funneled toward the ground. Shrapnel and Natasha flew down into the hall below. Thankfully this provided Clint with the distraction he needed and he was able to finally launch the arrow he'd readied from his quiver. Sliding across the metal in the darkness, leaving himself out in the open, he aimed at the turret and let the arrow fly.

It met its target and just as the guards were preparing to fire the gun again the arrowhead exploded and sent them flying away from it. Getting to his feet, he ran over to the turret, which he saw was disabled thanks to the explosion, ripped the ammunition belt out of it just in case, and then took out the remaining guards. Natasha was soon behind him, looking rattled and scraped up but still as determined as ever. He didn't insult her by asking if she was alright, he simply let her do her job which was taking out the rest of the lights in the hall. The two walked down the remainder of the hallway, checked the stairwell at the other end, and then locked it the best they could. It wouldn't be a permanent solution but it would slow down any forces that came after them. Since they had the time they barred the door to the stairwell that they had used to get into the top floor just in case. Any extra precautions would aid them later.

Back in the center of the long hallway, they looked at the wreckage of the door that Natasha had blown to pieces and grimaced. If they climbed up the now rickety staircase and there were men in the control room waiting for them to climb up it would be like shooting fish in a barrel.

"What can we do? Got any other cool new toys that might help?" Clint looked over to Natasha who was obviously already considering their situation. Her head was pounding and her hands were bloody and scraped up but she wasn't going to let it bother her for the time being. Much like Scarlett, Natasha was very much into the here and now and the rest of her problems could wait until she had the time to deal with them. Clint was glad that he worked with her because he knew if he had been in her place he'd probably be whining on the floor until he dealt with the bleeding.

Depending on the severity of the wound and the day of the week of course, sometimes Clint could take a beating that Natasha couldn't even dream of. But after the last month of being undercover with MedCo, Clint's nerves were already on edge and he was ready to get the hell out of there. He had never anticipated _this_ being how he would blow his cover after so much time spent trying to blend in.

"No, but you do." Natasha finally spoke after what seemed like forever but was actually only a few seconds. "Smoke bomb. It's our best bet. Shoot it up there and wait it out. Thankfully the air will clear pretty quickly, but it would at least buy us the cover that we need." She pointed to one of the arrows in his quiver and he looked impressed.

"Well, that's handy. I wish you would've told me about that earlier. And about the pulse that went out after that last bomb. I mean… I'm pretty sure that wasn't in there before."

"Yeah, well I forgot okay? I've had quite a bit more on my mind than I usually would." Natasha rolled her eyes. "Now, will you get on with it?" She held her hand in mock of how he held his bow and wiggled her fingers. He nodded his head and chose the arrow she'd pointed too. As skillfully as every other shot he'd fired, he aimed and landed the arrow right on its target. The smoke bomb went off and went traveling upward through the tunnel with the staircase and spread throughout the control room above.

There were sounds of struggling up top and one body fell down the steps, rolled off and landed flat on its back at Natasha's and Clint's feet, having moved out of the way just in time when the smoke had spread downward. After they'd waited as long as they thought they could afford, they climbed the ladder into the control room.

Thankfully the gas had dissipated quickly into the ventilation system and been rendered harmless. But it had done its job well enough. In the control room they found three other guards, all unconscious on the floor from the gas. Natasha quickly disposed of them, throwing them from the hole in the floor once she'd bound their hands together. She then looking around for something to cover the doorway with.

"I sort of regret blowing that up." Natasha sighed, as she realized that the shrapnel pieces that remained of the door weren't enough to provide them cover.

"Yeah, the only thing I can think for you to do is to take apart that chair and use it to block the doorway but that won't hold for long. Keep it open, provides us with a vantage point so that we can pick off anyone who comes after us. It's not the best idea, being stuck up here…" Clint cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the complicated machinery in front of him.

"That's as good a plan as any. I think we have a little while before we're in trouble. I already sent a distress signal to SHIELD. They should be here within the hour with aid."

"I'm pretty sure the guards will break in before then." Clint grimaced, searching for anything in the computers or on the controls that had to do with detonation or self destruct but found nothing. Natasha found the breaker on the wall and pulled it open. If there were any weapons built in that needed a serious draw of power from the building they would be listed on the breaker.

"Found it!" Clint yelled from across the room, but not from where either one of them had hoped they'd find it. On the floor, beneath a metallic panel was a series of lights and each one had a switch next to it. Each switch had been flipped and they had lit up a brilliant yellow.

"It looks like this whole damn place is rigged to blow." Natasha winced after looking at the lights. Picking up her radio she called to Scarlett. "It's what you feared. I'll let you know how much time." Scarlett didn't respond but Natasha didn't need her to. The message had been delivered, there wasn't much else that she could do, no purpose that a response would serve and she knew Scarlett wouldn't provide one.

"It gets worse." Clint tapped the top of the board to a black piece that was blinking.

"What is that?" whispered Natasha, leaning closer to it and brushing her fingers against it.

"Wireless connection. This thing's got a remote detonator. This is just what sent the signal out to the explosives rigged throughout the building. Whoever built this planned to be long gone by the time it went off." Clint shook his head. Natasha reached to flip some of the switches on the board.

"Can't we just turn it off?"

"No, once they're activated they're activated." Clint shook his head. "I've seen these before… in Mumbai. It didn't end well, let me tell you." Clint grimaced. "I was in the burn unit for a long time after that… man, I'm not looking forward to that again."

"We're going to stop it before it come to that. Look, the bombs haven't gone off yet so whoever it is must not be to safety. Can you get outside from here?" Natasha got up and turned back to the massive control panel spread about the room. Monitors glimmered along every wall, some higher tech than others.

"I'm about to find out." Clint stood up and pointed to the panel on the floor. "Start ripping up the floor around that thing. See if you can figure out how devastating these bombs are, the grade of explosives… and then maybe if there's a timer on it. If you can, pull at the wireless receiver! If we can find a way to disconnect it then maybe we can keep the transmission from ever reaching the damn thing if it hasn't triggered it already."

"When did you become such a bomb expert?" Natasha looked back at him, though she wasn't sure what she was going to do even if she _could_ get inside the receiver to stop transmission. Electronics were _not_ her forte. She knew more than most but the stuff MedCo had available was way over her head. If only she hadn't sent Scarlett down on her own to find Tony Stark, then they'd be in the clear. She bet that Scarlett or even Tony could've rewired the whole thing already while they'd been musing over how the hell to do it.

"After that one blew me up, _obviously_." Clint shrugged his shoulders and then pulled the computer chair from one of the technical desks into the middle of the room. "There's a hatch here." Clint pushed open the heavy door and then lifted himself out of it so he could get a better look at the outside world. "Holy hell…"

"What is it?" Natasha was prying up pieces of the floor around the panel so that she could hopefully get more information on the bomb that they were dealing with. There were hundreds of wires going from the box to somewhere down below in the floor. Whoever had rigged the explosives had taken special care to wire it throughout the building. "This is so bad." She muttered beneath her breath. If she had to, she would call Scarlett up on the radio and ask for help though she wasn't sure that Scarlet would have the time to offer them help.

"You have to see this to believe it." Clint mumbled, staring slack jawed at the sight in front of him. Natasha took the hand he offered her and climbed onto the roof of the building. Surrounding the facility on all sides were armed forces from MedCo, preparing for the worst. There were men in black aiming their guns at them but not making a move forward. And neither Natasha nor Clint could blame them for it either. The sheer amount of guards that stood armed and ready for battle was absolutely terrifying.

"Even if Scarlett gets Tony she's never going to be able to get out of here until SHIELD gets here and something tells me we don't have that kind of time." Natasha turned to look at Clint who was nodding his head. "The transmitter can't be that strong right? Not through this thick metal?"

"Not unless it's hooked up to that satellite up there." Clint nodded, knowing what he had to do.

"I'll try and figure out how much time we have left, you work on tracking that signal." Natasha patted Clint on his shoulder and then jumped back down into the control room below. Clint grumbled something about heights and how he hated having to deal with them just because he preferred a higher vantage point. "You volunteered to go up there, don't whine!"

"I didn't volunteer for _this_. I volunteered to get a better look." Clint yelled back down but climbed up the thin and frail looking ladder until he reached the satellite high above that blinked red as it transmitted signals to and from the building. Digging a wire from his pocket, Clint pulled open the back panel and worked on finding a way to connect the satellite to his phone so he could intercept the signal and try to find how far away the radio transmitter was that would set off the remaining bombs.

Natasha continued to pull away panels and then stopped when she found a timer attached to the top.

"Clint?"

"What is it? I'm sorta busy in a dangerous place." He yelled back from up above, still working with the wires and holding his phone in his mouth.

"I'm not sure it's got a remote transmitter." Natasha pushed her curly red hair away from the bloodied wound on her forehead.

"Why is that?"

"There's a timer here blinking down from thirty three minutes." She shouted, walking over to the hatch in the ceiling so she could look up at Clint.

"That's probably a failsafe… a guarantee that the bombs will go off if the receiver goes out of range." Clint felt disheartened. He hoped they'd at least have an hour.

"So that's it then? We have a half an hour at most." Natasha paced the floor.

"Unless we figure out a way to shut it off? Yeah, we have less than a half an hour." Clint continued to fiddle with the receiver. "If I can intercept the signal, there's still a chance I can trick the detonator into thinking I've disabled it."

"Good plan, I'm going to keep looking down here to see what I can do." Natasha felt skeptical that either option was going to work so she picked up her phone and put in a call to SHIELD while she pried. The answering machine that picked up immediately without any message was something she was used to. It was standard communication for SHIELD agents so they couldn't easily be traced. "Send backup immediately. We have a half an hour before this place is a crater." Ending the call she hoped that the message would be taken with urgency.

She hoped that if nothing else, Scarlett would get to Tony in time and get him to safety. When the timer got down to ten minutes she would try to contact her friend in hopes she could help disarm the bomb and save all their lives.

But Natasha was hoping that, by some miracle, it wouldn't come to that.


	35. Love and Revenge

Abandoned hallway after abandoned hallway was all that greeted Scarlett as she searched for the stairwell that would take her a level deeper into the Russian MedCo facility. The air in the room was eerie, like the moment in a Stephen King novel where the protagonist realized all was not what it seemed to be. Every footfall echoed on metal flooring, announcing her presence to the ghosts that surely haunted this place.

How many men and women had died, writhing in pain, tortured inside cells that lined the walls? What did their families think had happened to them? Were their faces on missing posters around the city? Scarlett knew that surely for every person lost, every life destroyed, there were a handful of people caught up in the aftermath. How difficult was it for them to pick up the pieces left behind?

Before this Scarlett wouldn't have had anyone looking for her. If she hadn't blown herself out of MedCo's facility then no one would've noticed her absence. Not even the only person she thought would miss her. Scarlett had long ago cut ties with parents she'd never bonded with, left behind her first love, lost touch with college friends she'd partied with. She'd though Scott would be the one to miss her if anything had happened and in a weird way, she guessed that he was missing her.

If she had given into what MedCo wanted, no one would've missed her. If Tony hadn't shown up in South Africa as Iron Man then she never would've gotten away in the first place. As much as she boasted independence and solidarity, like every other human being on the planet, sometimes Scarlett needed _help._ Now not only did she have Tony Stark trying to keep her safe, but she had Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton, neither of which she ever anticipated coming to her aid. Friends were suddenly popping out of the woodwork in the weirdest of places.

In a month's time, Scarlett had gone from being a person that no one would've missed had she remained in MedCo's clutches to someone who had a group of very powerful people willing to fight by her side, possibly until they met their end.

The lights flickered overhead, setting the solemn mood. Scarlett checked each of the cells at the end of the passageway just in case Tony was hidden in one of them, quiet and unconscious. That was of course the only way that Tony would've been quiet in _any_ situation.

She didn't find anyone inside the prison cells and for that she was partially thankful. The remnants of what had transpired within them was no less disturbing than if she had found the prisoners themselves. Implements of torture hung on the walls behind metallic bars, a further design of torture by the sadists working for MedCo. Scarlett didn't linger longer than she needed to. Somewhere in the bowels of the expansive building Tony Stark was held captive and she knew that he was in trouble.

Scarlett was in no condition to play the hero but she couldn't leave him to what MedCo surely had in store for him. Even if it meant the end of the road for her, she had to at least _try_ to save Tony. For once she would be _his_ knight in shining armor. The mental image eased her worries for a moment. Tony would make a pretty excellent damsel-in-distress.

Scott would be wherever Tony was, of that she was sure. And while she was positive that her mental state would suffer severely if she ended up having to kill him, she knew that she would be willing to do it in order to save Tony's life. He'd given himself up in an attempt to save her, so she was more than willing to do the same. But Scarlett didn't intend on handing herself over to Scott, MedCo or anyone else. She had every intention of freeing Tony and getting the hell out of there. Tony Stark was the most self obsessed person she knew and he had made the sacrifice play and for her at that. No one had ever done anything like that for her before, not in all her many years.

This would be a battle to be fought another day. There was no storming the castle, just a last ditch effort to escape. Realistically Scarlett knew that her Queen was badly wounded and she had run out of pawns to defend her. Sometime in the future she would return and when that day came she would be more than ready for the fight. But today was not that day and it was on the very long list of things that Scarlett wasn't ready to think about. Once inside the stairwell, leaving the door propped open just a stitch, Scarlett stopped short.

The lights were flickering again, electricity seemingly drawn from them to power something much bigger. But something else seemed off. The entire feel of the building changed as she crept slowly down the stairs, holding her gun in sweaty palms. Her fingers on her left arm had begun to tingle and numb from the bullet wound and her subconscious rattled off what could be causing three of those fingers to be numb. Knowing what one of her problems was and how to potentially fix it brought her comfort.

Accompanying her footsteps on the metallic stairs was the annoying drip-drip-drip of blood from the wound on her arm. The numbed fingers had begun to twitch and she guessed that there had been more nerve damage than she'd once suspected. It was in Scarlett's nature to act like she was doing just fine even if she was wounded and now the physical toll was catching up to her. She'd stretched the wound open again during battle against Erick and her muscles seemed to be having some sort of fit every time the drops splattered on the ground nearby.

Halfway down the stairs the lights flickered back on as steady as they had once been. Something was definitely drawing power nearby and she could even hear the buzz of electricity in the bulbs overhead as though they would burst at any second. Was there a chance that more monsters like Erick had been created and were waiting for her in the cells below? It seemed that he'd caused some kind of electrical interference wherever he went and it was the only thing Scarlett could think of that fit the bill for the moment. If that was the case then she was doomed and would likely die in the next hallway.

Her mind had abandoned reason and jumped right to the impossible for explanations. How desperately she wanted nothing more than a strong glass of scotch and a cigar in her hand. When she closed her eyes she hoped to see a balcony overlooking a beachy sunset while somewhere in the distance Jimmy Thackery and the Drivers played the blues. But instead she saw Tony's face, torn apart, bloody and blaming her for the suffering that he'd undergone at the hands of MedCo.

"Can't even have my fantasies anymore, can I?" Scarlett stopped at the bottom of the stairs and leaned against the wall heavily. It wasn't like her fantasies had been helping her at all in the last few weeks. In fact, her dreams were often worse than her reality. That was comforting, wasn't it? Scarlett somehow didn't _feel_ comforted.

Her head was pounding and her chest was aching with every breath she took. Even her throat and ears were hurting now. No matter how much she coughed or how many times she cleared her throat the discomfort remained. Sinuses were a real bitch when they weren't cooperating. Eyes burning from the fever that had managed to catch up with her now Scarlett wondered if the fever was from being sick or some terrible infection that was likely festering in the wound on her arm.

She couldn't help but laugh. The situation had become so desperate and terrible that it was almost comical. What else could she do but laugh it off? It said something about her personality that she was now leaning against the wall laughing to herself while she waited for the spinning behind her eyes to subside, she just wasn't sure if that something was positive or negative.

At long last, when she opened her eyes and could manage to focus on the door she moved away from the wall. There were no menacing sounds from up above or on the other side of the door. This should've eased her worried mind but instead made her uncomfortable. What if she never found Tony? Maybe he wasn't being held there in Russia anymore. If she had been on the other side of this craziness, that would've been the first thing she did. Take what your victim wanted most, in this case Tony, and put as much distance between them as possible. MedCo had to realize by now that Scarlett was willing to go to any lengths in order to get what she wanted. It would've been foolhardy not to remove Tony from the facility.

Scarlett could only hope that those in charge of handling Tony were so aggravated with her that they weren't thinking straight. Maybe Mikhail and Marcia were _so_ mad at her that they were tempted to keep Tony close by so that they could use him either as a bargaining chip or another implement of torture. It was pitiful to think that this was the option she was hoping for.

Stumbling forward, she grabbed onto the door handle and gave it a swift tug. It squeaked just as the lights overhead began to flicker once again. Shivers went down her spine and her arms broke out in uncomfortable goose bumps.

"I am _not_ Milla Jovovich, this is _not_ Raccoon Cit. Everything's going to be okay," muttered Scarlett beneath her breath. Even her everlasting sense of humor wasn't enough to put her at ease. No, not even horror movie references could calm the tension she felt. "I need a thousand massages by one of those lathered up oily guys on the cover of romance novels," whimpered Scarlett as she double checked the hallway for resistance. Just like in the corridor above her it was deserted like a ghost town. The place had been evacuated and quickly at that. Where were MedCo's once formidable forces? Where were the men guarding the prisoners of this floor?

Scarlett hadn't been left without a guard, not _once_, during her imprisonment so what the hell made it fair that none of these prisoners had the same fate? Maybe none of the other prisoners had pissed MedCo off quite as terribly as she had managed to. But as she crept forward beneath the flickering lights she saw nothing but dancing shadows on the walls inside the cells. No one was guarding the doorways or waiting for her to arrive. No, it was just Scarlett and the shadows of her demons waltzing against the concrete.

Monsters formed in the corners of her vision, beckoning her forward, warning her of what was to come. But Scarlett was not one to back down from her demons, not even when they were quite possibly going to be the death of her.

This new hallway was nothing like the floor above. The floors were pristine and free of gore. Even the locks were new. No one had been held inside these cells, at least not recently. MedCo would've never had the time to do_ that_ sort of clean up during an evacuation. What made Hawkeye so sure that Tony would be held down there? What if he was wrong?

What if Tony was already dead?

Scarlett couldn't think like that.

Tony _couldn't_ be dead.

No, he was too damn stubborn to die just like Scarlett was. He was the only hope she had that maybe someday her life could be somewhat… _normal_. While she knew it would never quite be normal in relation to the rest of the population, being with Tony made her feel... well, it made her feel whole. It was a terrible way to think, that without him surviving she could never be a whole person but Scarlett couldn't picture it any other way.

She'd spend the rest of her days broken and likely become the terrible vengeful person that Tony had once accused her of being. It wasn't about needing him. In fact, Scarlett was having a very hard time explaining it even to herself. But she knew that her life was meant to be lived with Tony. He was the one person who had made her want to live for something more than the next job, the next bit of danger and she had a feeling that the feeling was quite mutual. Scarlett was terrible at this romance thing, maybe she'd take to learning about it a bit better after all was said and done.

Hurrying through the hallway, more determined than she had been in the stairwell, Scarlett kept her gun aimed toward the floor and peered into each cell as she passed. She had half a mind to ignore them and keep running until she heard any sign of Tony but the instincts she'd developed over the years wouldn't allow her to throw caution completely to the wind. It would do her no good if she managed to find Tony but was being pursued by whatever hellish monsters may have been held in any of those cells.

Further through the passage, the familiar layout began to change. The walls were white and freshly painted. They reminded her more of a hospital than of a prison. There had to have been medical procedures performed down here, Scarlett knew it. Every bit of the new décor screamed _surgery._ The path in front of her forked in several different directions and Scarlett stood confounded in between them.

Lights dimmed and buzzed loudly again, drawing her attention upward. Her radio buzzed with the sound of Natasha assuring her that her fears had been verified. The entire building was rigged to explode and judging by the worry in her friend's voice it was likely worse than they had expected it to be. That left Scarlett with a very small window in which to find Tony and get him out of the building and to safety. Was there any way she would be able to summon the Iron Man suit to take him away? And what if he wasn't in a right enough state to pilot it?

Scarlett was sure she could figure it out but she was nearly positive that the suits had been designed so that they would obey Tony and Tony alone. If she could get access to Jarvis, then she bet she could use the suit to get them both out of there with Tony simply protected beneath the armor. That would be her best bet of getting them both out of the building alive. It felt pretty risky leaving all of her faith in a computer system. But Jarvis wasn't any computer system and Scarlett had to remind herself of that. He was a very charming, very loyal, computer system and she was sure that she could get him to help her. It was all about time now. If Scarlett couldn't get to Tony before the building exploded, plans for an escape attempt would be rather silly.

None of the three hallways that branched off in different directions gave any indication of where Tony would be held, so Scarlett decided she'd search from left to right. She'd have to abandon checking every room and every cell as thoroughly as she had been now that her time was severely limited. Natasha hadn't yet gotten back to her with a countdown but she had the feeling that the timing was less than what they could have hoped for.

As she took a few steps forward and began her investigation anew, Scarlett heard something that made her jump nearly out of her skin. Thankfully jumping nearly out of Scarlett's skin mostly meant that she twitched a little. By now, there was very little that would _really_ surprise her. The past few weeks had desensitized her quite a bit.

Edward Cullen could've floated down the hallway, glittering and holding a baseball bat while trying to explain to her that thunder was really the sound of vampires playing baseball and she wouldn't have batted an eyelash. Though she would've likely explained how stupid that sounded in general.

But the sound that echoed down the third and final hallway, the one that Scarlett would've chosen last, was one that she knew all too well.

It was the sound of Tony Stark.

He was screaming in pain.

It was then that Scarlett's haste felt renewed and she ran down the hallway toward the desperate cries. The lights flashed threateningly overhead and it all but dawned on her what was being done and why. All those times the lights flickered someone had been hurting Tony and she'd been foolish enough to think that the power shortage had been caused by monsters. They had been _electrocuting_ him! What effect would this have on the arc reactor that was keeping the shrapnel from reaching his heart? Would it be able to handle the surge of power being sent through his body as a device to torture him? Scarlett didn't know enough about arc reactor technology to repair the thing if it shorted out.

Just how many things could go wrong today? She'd lost count. Not that it'd matter since the fingers on one hand had gone numb enough that she wouldn't be able to use them to keep track anyway. This joke finally eased a little of the stress hanging on her shoulders. It was a dumb one but she didn't care.

"Faster... _must_ go faster," whispered Scarlett under her breath as she ran as swiftly as her legs would carry her through the darkening halls of MedCo's building. The white faded into prison gray and she was once again surrounded by jail cells instead of hospital rooms. She ignored the rooms all around her despite what could've been hiding inside of them. The only thing that seemed to matter was the screams coming from Tony in one of the rooms. Her thoughts raced as she considered the pain he was in. All she could think about was putting a stop to that pain and getting him to safety.

But by the time she got to the source of the sound the lights had stopped flickering and the screaming had ceased. Scarlett stopped running when she realized she'd passed voices somewhere on the left. Hunching over she caught her breath and held her side where it ached from the beating she'd received from Scott. It was only a short moment that she rested before listening closely and walking as silently as she could through the hallway to pinpoint the location of the room in which Tony was being held. Someone was obviously hurting him and it was her guess that whoever it was wouldn't be alone in doing so. She'd learned from experience that if there was one asshole from MedCo around you could count on there being three more assholes from MedCo nearby.

"You better hope this doesn't cause me any serious nerve damage." She could hear Tony's voice, panting and pained though still thick with that snotty wit he had so charmed her with over weeks past. "I have... way too many pleasures waiting for me after this and if they're numbed so help me god…" The lights flickered again and Tony screamed as he was punished for continuing to be a smart ass through his moments of torture. They were far more alike than Scarlett wanted to admit at times. Could he, like her, be unable to keep his attitude in check even in life or death situations?

Scarlett didn't waste time contemplating this further. She grabbed the handle of the door, turned it and then kicked the door so hard it crashed (_bang!_) against the wall behind it. All eyes turned toward the door in surprise and it gave Scarlett the opportunity her entrance had hoped it would afford her. There were three guards standing around the room waiting to assist Mikhail who was controlling the flow of electricity that was being sent straight into Tony via the electrodes strapped to his body.

Before the guards had even raised their arms to attack her, Scarlett had fired three shots and each lay dead on the ground or mortally wounded in such a way that they would be unable to get up or assist their leader if they tried. Mikhail made a move for the gun he had set down behind him but Scarlett pointed her handgun at him and practically snarled before he got the chance.

"Don't even think about it. One move and I will blow your brains out." Scarlett moistened her lips nervously. Her instincts hadn't failed her when it had mattered and she was feeling rather proud of herself for that. The guards who had fallen would've killed her or tortured her without a second thought, she felt no remorse for the lives she had to take in order to save Tony's. Tony was still twitching and gritting his teeth against the electricity.

"I can't say I'm very surprised to see you here." Mikhail's face betrayed him all but for a second before returning to the emotionless scowl she had forever remembered from the first time she had been treated like a prisoner at the MedCo facility in South Africa. He had told her that she was a pawn in their game of chess. She knew even then that she was a far more important piece in their little game. Little did she know just how deadly the game would become over time.

"Turn it off!" Scarlett ignored the attempt to taunt her. She didn't care much for Mikhail's opinion of her as much as she cared to see Tony no longer twitching in agony. He was dripping with sweat, his usually neat hair slick back against his head. Bruises could be seen along his neck and arms. Mikhail had been at it for some time. Why did she feel as though part of the torment that had been reserved for her had been thrust upon Tony instead? As if she didn't feel enough guilt. Mikhail stared at her then looked back to his gun. "Turn it off, or I'll turn _you_ off and do it myself." Scarlett took a step closer and aimed the gun resolutely at Mikhail.

Her hand didn't shake and there must have been determination in her eyes because Mikhail at once complied. Tony leaned his head back against the chair and gathered deep breaths greedily. Scarlett was going to ask if he was alright, but then Tony did something very strange. He leaned his head up then hunched it against his shoulder oddly.

"Rhodes? Send in the artillery. I found Scarlett." He murmured to someone Scarlett couldn't see then leaned his head back against the chair once again. "Oh shit that hurt." Tony puffed his cheeks up with air then exhaled deeply. For a split second, Scarlett thought that Tony had gone mad but then realized he must have been wearing a wire and talking to someone on the outside of the building.

"Tony?" Scarlett turned her gaze quickly back to Mikhail who was staring at her expectantly. He half expected her to shoot him even after he'd turned off the electricity. Her gaze had been animalistic and murderous, something he never thought she would have been capable of.

"I'm okay, I'm okay..." He smiled and waved with one of the hands tied behind his back still. "Do your... do your ninja assassin 007 thing and get us out of here, okay? I will even buy you a damn Aston Martin if that's what it takes." The billionaire had never been happier to see her before in his life and for more reasons than just the fact that her presence had stopped the torture and likely meant that he would be freed.

"You're such an idiot sometimes, you know that right?" Scarlett couldn't help but laugh as she spoke and Tony nodded his head.

"I'm a much bigger idiot than you think I am actually. I have no idea what you see in me. You know… other than my charm, wit, intelligence, ruggedly handsome good looks… okay so maybe I'm a catch." Tony smiled but then groaned in pain and closed his eyes.

He'd done it. He'd found Scarlett.

Or rather she had found him. Either way, Scarlett was alive and in one piece even if she did look like she'd been through hell. But he couldn't quite rejoice, not yet. They still had to get out of the building and there was much more to that than Tony could have guessed. Scarlett had Mikhail right where she needed him, but she wouldn't for long.

"Get up and walk slowly to the center of the room. Away from your men and away from mine." Scarlett nodded to Mikhail. She had every intention of tying him up and delivering him to S.H.I.E.L.D. with a bow on the packaging. He wasn't going to get away, not again. If he fought back she'd kill him. That's all there was to it. The adrenaline boost she'd received after finding Tony had done wonders for her psyche and her stamina. Every doubt possible had crossed her mind while she'd searched for him and while finding him with Mikhail, tortured and weak, wasn't exactly the best scenario she could hope for it was still better than any of the ones she had expected to be faced with.

"Did you think it would be that easy, Scarlett?" A voice from the doorway of the room drew her attention. In the split second it took for Scarlett to withdraw her second handgun and aim it at the voice, Mikhail made his move. He grabbed his gun and latched onto Tony in the chair before Scarlett could turn her attention back to him and fire a shot. Now he used Tony as a shield and pressed the gun to his neck threateningly.

Scarlett instead turned her attention to the voice that had distracted her. She'd nearly forgotten about Scott after all her success, but he wasn't forgettable now that he was standing with his gun aimed at her. She kept her gaze on Scott but a gun aimed in either direction. Neither option seemed ideal, not for Scarlett. If she shot Scott then Mikhail would shoot Tony. She'd be rid of Scott, or he would be incapacitated at the very least, but she would lose the one thing she had worth fighting for.

If she shot Mikhail then she would save Tony's life but Scott would be afforded the chance to shoot her or to run away. Scarlett had to make a choice. Either she saved Tony or she saved herself and got her revenge. If she let Scott get away wouldn't she lose Tony eventually anyway? MedCo would keep coming after her. Even if they didn't she knew that Scott had gone crazy enough that he would never let her live happily without him and eventually would come to kill her or Tony.

But if she got her revenge and her freedom from Scott now by killing him and then killing Mikhail then what would the fight have been for in the end? Tony would be dead and Scarlett would lose the humanity she'd slowly managed to regain. This was a decision Scarlett had been struggling with from the first moment she had felt the tug between her and Tony. From that first moment where they had danced to the Rat Pack at dinner and he had nearly kissed her, she'd been torn on whether or not she could change her life to be with someone as equally screwed up as she was.

There was no time left to muse over the outcome. Scarlett had to decide and it was made obvious to them all exactly what was going through her mind. Tony was looking to her hopefully but slowly trying to crane his neck away from the cold barrel of the gun. His chest was burning uncomfortably still from the heat the arc reactor had generated when filled with electricity. Thankfully the technology had held up to the torture and hadn't failed him or they would be faced with far worse problems.

"What are you going to do, Scarlett?" Scott taunted, taking a step closer and drawing her attention away from Tony and Mikhail for another split second. "Once again you have to choose. You or him? It's simple, isn't it?"

"I didn't ask your opinion," muttered Scarlett but her blue eyes gave her away. Where once she had been able to hide the truth in them from anyone who looked her thoughts reflected even to Scott. She didn't know what to do. If it had been a year prior, before the torture, before MedCo, before Tony, she would've known _exactly_ what to do. She would've shot Scott and then shot Mikhail and wrote Tony off as collateral damage. But now there was a battle raging in her heart and her mind and Scarlett had absolutely no idea who was going to win.

"We both know what you're going to do." Scott laughed, his gun trained toward her. "The way I see it... you can save his life and I'll take yours. Or you can try and shoot me but... we both know you won't. It's that damn subconscious of yours. You'll miss and... I know you don't miss, not often. You still care about me. Somewhere deep inside you still think I'm that sweet man you dated for years." His voice taunted her and Scarlett turned her gaze back to Tony. Would he forgive her if she gave her life for his? If the tables were turned she knew she'd never be able to live with the guilt or without him. Would he suffer the same fate?

"You don't know me, Scott. You never did." Scarlett finally responded. "You set me up. You... had me _tortured_ for no reason. You said you _loved_ me and then you let them nearly kill me because I didn't fit into the vision of me in your head. Why _shouldn't_ I kill you?"

"You can't kill me because I _made _you. Can't you see that? I did that for you! You call it torture? I call it reprogramming. I was fixing you!"

"Oh, come on _really?_" Tony could be heard mumbling beneath his breath and grunted when Mikhail pressed the gun harder against his throat purposely. Grabbing his hair, Mikhail pulled Tony's head back and placed the gun against the exposed flesh of his neck in an attempt to get him to shut up.

"You did it for _you._" Scarlett shook her head. "I'm not some machine waiting to be fixed! If you couldn't love me and all my flaws, and there are plenty, then you never wanted me to begin with."

"No you're wrong! I did it _for_ you! To make you better! You never listened... never! No matter how wrong you were, you ignored me and did whatever you thought was best! What choice did I have? You left me with none! Someone had to teach you, Scarlett. Someone had to show you that your actions would someday be paid for in spades. I did that for you. To save you I had to hurt you. Can't you see how much love that took?" Scott spoke genuinely, showing how truly he believed in what he was doing.

"You're sick." Scarlett scowled, her heart beating in her ears. He wanted to reprogram her, even back then. Had Scott always been a twisted little shit or had he turned into that person somewhere along the line? If he had always been screwed up then maybe it wasn't her fault that he'd traded his soul to become a monster. She'd make sure to tell that to the therapist she would surely be seeing after this.

"I _made_ you! You can't kill me!" Scott yelled, his face now red with anger. He was more than tired of Scarlett defying him and refused to be taunted further.

"You're wrong!" Scarlett's lip curled in disapproval. "I made _you_! What money would you have without me and the ideas that you stole? You were _nothing_ before we met! A mousy little scientist who could do no better than hope to be my assistant! I made you! Look at you! Even now, without me you're nothing more than an experiment... a _failed_ experiment, Scott. You're so desperate to be more than what you are... you think that you're saving me but you're terrified of how worthless you are without me. Stop trying to fix me! I'm not fucking broken! You are, go fix yourself!" Scarlett looked over at Tony. She needed to make her decision. He was staring at her pleadingly. He had the utmost faith that she would do the right thing though he wasn't sure what the right thing was.

MedCo had to be stopped, Scott had to be stopped. Scarlett would never be okay knowing that Scott had made it out of there alive. If she saved his life then she would likely lose hers. His vision blurred but there was never a moment in his life that he would admit it was from tears.

"You don't have to do this alone, Scarlett." He finally spoke, offering her the weakest of smiles. Scarlett returned the sentiment and nodded her head. He wasn't sure and never would be of what that nod meant. Did she nod because she knew she didn't have to fight MedCo alone or did she nod to tell him that she had no choice but to do so on her own? Scott was laughing heartily at them now and threw his arm holding the gun wildly to the side. Even if Scarlett had fired the shot, Mikhail would've been able to take Tony out in the second it would take her to turn her gun toward him.

"You really think that is going to make any difference?" Scott was glaring at Tony now, malevolence sparkling behind his eyes. Tony could tell that he'd had some training with a gun and wondered how long Scott had been waiting for the moment he could try to destroy Scarlett and rebuild her into the woman he'd always wished she would be. But behind the mischief in his tone, both Tony and Scarlett could hear the rage that he'd been filled with. Scarlett's words had more of an effect on him than he would've been likely to admit.

"She's been fighting on her own for long enough." Tony spoke despite Mikhail shoving the gun harder against his throat. "Do you really think that's going to shut me up? Scarlett's been trying to get me to shut up for weeks and she's way prettier than you are Boris Badenov. Good luck with that." Rolling his eyes, Tony grunted again when Mikhail tugged harder at his hair to threaten him.

"I've been trying to help her for years. Do you think that... she will change without it? Can't you see that someone needs to fix her? She's positively ruined!" Scott laughed.

"I'm standing right here, you know." Scarlett cocked an eyebrow curiously.

"I don't see anything wrong with her except that her ex-boyfriend might be the biggest asshole I've ever met. And I've met some pretty colossal assholes." Tony spat. "I told you I didn't like him! I knew there was good reason besides my eternally green eyes."

"Enough." Scarlett exhaled deeply but Scott was nowhere near done.

"You can plead all you want Anthony Stark, but she will not relent. In the end Scarlett always chooses _herself_. It's in her nature and surely you understand that from what the rumors have told me. There is no room for sentiment in her cold dark heart."

"No room for sentiment?" Scarlett cocked her head to the side, growing weary of holding her wounded arm aimed toward Scott. It was shaking and trembling visibly but she kept the gun steady and aimed toward him. "I am perfectly capable of sentiment, Scott. It's not my fault that you were never enough." Scott's confident smile faded from his face.

"I am tired of your bickering." Mikhail spoke up at long last. "You with your petty desire for love and you with your indecision. I told you what you were a long time ago, do you remember, Scarlett?"

"Yeah, I remember." Scarlett turned her attention back to Mikhail. "I'm a pawn in a game of chess and you're going to use me as such. That didn't quite play out the way you wanted, did it?"

"As far as I see it, many more of your pieces have fallen to mine." Mikhail spoke confidently, his accent thick with anger.

"Scarlett, put down your arms and we'll spare his life." Scott yelled frantically, realizing he was losing the hold he'd managed to gain on her in the past months where he'd been making quiet moves in the background to manipulate her.

"No." Scarlett spoke at long last, turning her attention toward Scott. "I've already made my choice. You lose." Turning her attention back to Mikhail she fired her gun three times, the bullets ripping right through his forehead. He dropped the gun and fell backwards onto the ground dead. Scarlett shot him once again in the chest for good measure. Tony was wincing, one eye closed and blood spattered across his face from the shots Scarlett had fired. "Checkmate."

"You made the wrong choice, Scarlett!" Scott's hand was trembling with anger when he pulled the trigger of his weapon. He'd aimed the gun at Tony instead of at her, which was not something she had anticipated. But he'd hesitated long enough that Scarlett was able to move in the way of the shot. Better her than Tony.

The shot hit her right in the chest with such force that she flew immediately back onto the ground. Scott was yelling irrationally, screaming at her for messing up his plans and making him kill her. He cursed and stomped around like a child throwing a tantrum then turned away and grabbed his hair, sobbing hysterically as he hunched over her. Scott discarded his gun in a panic and looked down at the woman he'd caused nothing but misery.

"Scarlett! Scarlett, get up!" Tony was shouting, wiggling back and forth in his chair. He leaned his ear against his shoulder again. "Rhodey! Rhodey I need you in here right now! Now! Rhodey! Please! Rhodey!" His vision was blurred again as he desperately tried to break free of his bonds so he could run to her side. It was torture sitting idly by while she suffered, potentially dying, on the floor nearby. But his body was shaking and wounded from the torture he'd undergone thanks to Mikhail and the bonds he'd been steadied with were too strong.

"I made the _right _decision." Scarlett spoke weakly from the floor, staring at the ceiling. Her head had crashed against the floor and instinct made her close her eyes to properly deal with the pain she felt. Scott stared at her on the floor, the woman he'd tried desperately to make into his perfect little doll dead and gone. With one look at Tony, who paid him no mind, he could see that their relationship was _far_ different than the one he'd ever had with Scarlett.

She never would've taken a bullet for him.

So turning on his heels, Scott ran out of the cell and down the hall, away from where Tony was taking turns screaming at Rhodey to send him help and get him out of there and screaming at Scarlett to get up because she wasn't supposed to do that.

She wasn't supposed to save him, he was supposed to save her.


End file.
